Half Moon
by AugustinianFrog
Summary: Sequel to Dusters. The Hudson River seemed to have its own legends and tall tales that floated around it long before the bombs fell. Now with changes on the wind, the Liberators have to wonder if they're getting caught up in the latest dark legend...
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Back by semi popular demand. What belongs to Bethesda render to Bethesda. Furthermore, some up coming characters will belong to different authors who will be noted when appropriate. If you got used to the lightning updates of _Dusters_ I'm sorry that I cannot provide that this time with _Half Moon_, studying and all. However, with no further ado...

* * *

_**...Half Moon...**_

Way back when, a few centuries before the bombs fell, an explorer from across the sea sailed up the river on a ship propelled by the wind. The intrepid explorers crossed many dangers, being on a small wooden vessel, tossed about by the waves and storms of the ocean for so many months. However, having made the daring passage, the men were rewarded by finding this river that cut into a new land. The captain of the men was named Henry Hudson and the river would soon bear his name. The ship he commanded was called the _Half Moon._

The Hudson river had always been instrumental to the people who lived on or near it. European explorers who came after Henry Hudson would find many of the natives living on the river, which provided transportation, food and a means of trade. Even during the modern era and after the advent of atomic power, the Hudson river continued to act as a water route for transportation and even provided a handy coolant source for nearby nuclear power plants.

After the bombs fell and humanity was dispersed and separated into broken, desperate pockets, the river continued to flow on. Now laced with radiation, it continued to cut its path through what was once New York and the now desolate Hudson Valley only seemed to echo an equally lifeless river.

Some are starting to learn that the "lifeless river" icon of the post-Great War is actually becoming out of date.

A man draped in an olive green coat crouched behind a rock. The sounds of the river's water slowly washing by hit his ears as he tried to avoid some of the shallow, irradiated pools of almost life giving liquid. The man carefully brought his Chinese assault rifle to his shoulder and waited to spring his move.

The man was a regulator, one of the roving vigilantes of the wastes two hundred years after the Great War. Most people called him "Mark." Raiders tended to call him other things.

The new river pirates? Well, the phrase "curses like a sailor" still has not lost one ounce of its meaning after two hundred years.

Mark stepped away from the rock and started firing his assault rifle. The interrupted roar of the gun spat off fire into an ancient hull of a ship, perhaps one of those ferries back in better days. Now, the old wreck had been commandeered and patched up for a new illegal trade that the New York regulators had been running into; the river pirates.

Not much different from their land based raider cousins, these scum from the waters only differed in that they spent much of their time on the river. Also, they tended to engage in a few more appalling behaviors.

Firing back at regulators was one of the more benign ones, though still one that Mark did not appreciate as he crouched back behind the rock again.

Mark shot up once more and aimed towards the decks on the beached ship. He was proud on how much he was able to restore of his trusty Chinese assault rifle. The barrel was straight as a die and the rifling was cleaned out, making his bullets much more accurate. The moving parts, heck, everything, had been cleaned out to prevent jams and he made sure that the firing pin was in pristine condition. The trigger was connected superbly.

The scored hits? Apparently deadly. Perfect.

Running out of ammo, Mark hid behind his cover again and popped the magazine open. He had super glued two of the magazines together, one fed the opposite direction of the other. In other words, having spent one magazine, he simply flipped it over so the other, unused magazine could now be loaded into the chamber. This rapidly cut down reload time.

It did not, however, get him out of the problem of being outgunned and outnumbered.

The regulator pressed his back closer to the stone, hearing the sounds of the hostile bullets ricocheting off the hard surface behind him. He could not stay like this forever and he could not risk jumping out again. All of those pirates had his location figured out by now and were relentlessly firing on him, preventing him from stepping out. Gritting his teeth, unless something happened, he was not going to get out of this one.

"Here's your high tech ticket to hell, you pinko commies!" a mechanical voice cracked, green flashes of plasma erupting on the decks. Mark drew a sigh of relief. It was good to have a team again.

Mark's Mr. Gutsy hovered up the gang plank, its plasma gun spitting superheated gas into the raiders while another arm lit up a flamethrower, ready for use. Mark was now able to step from his cover and started providing covering fire for his war machine. The robot could easily take a few hits but Mark was in no mood to go buff out any dents the machine might incur. Suddenly, Mark noticed a pirate off towards the stern with a bunch of others already starting to make their way towards the droid. One of them had a deadly looking missile launcher trained on the it.

"VR-5! Your right, watch your right! The stern!" Mark warned the machine. VR-5 turned and set its speakers to the highest volume.

"Designate which specific target you are highlighting, soldier!" the robot retorted. Mark started firing in the general direction of the particular pirate but he was unable to drop the enemy.

Instead, the entire stern section seem to light up in an explosion, followed by several more all across the ship. Very soon, the whole ship went down into silence. Mark looked behind him to find another regulator rushing up to him holding one of those uncommon, but not unheard of, improvised weapons. This one apparently was made to launch grenades and sticks of dynamites.

"Good job, Cindy." Mark said.

"As usual, sir." Cindy replied. They slowly started to walk towards the ship to claim their fingers as well as look for any other goods. Halfway there, VR-5 stormed up to them.

"Detonation sequence detected! Communists trap detected and scanning. Analysis: Get your sorry organic hides out of here!" the Mr. Gutsy screamed. Cindy, Mark and the machine immediately started high tailing it in the other direction.

The ship suddenly lit up in an inferno, throwing all three of them flat on their faces into the sand. When the roar finally died away, Mark looked up to find the beach littered with bodies, many of them in numerous pieces. Few of them were whole.

"This seems to be way too many people for that small band of pirates." Cindy remarked. Mark noticed a severed wrist with a shackle still on it.

"They were smuggling slaves who were chained to the lower decks. Most likely they rigged it to explode to keep any rival bands of pirates from capturing the ship." Mark explained. The three slowly sat up, brushing the muddy sand from off their coats while watching the now burning skeleton of the ship. The VR-5 hovered, cursing the communists while Cindy watched in amazement.

"Well. That was eventful. Pirate raiding." Cindy remarked.

"Get used to it. This is where all the bad guys are going now. This is the future." Mark replied.

–

A large New York rat scampered along the river, keeping its nose up to catch any particular smells it needed to be aware of. It had been a year since this particular rat had decided to adopt a group of humans. Apparently, it turned out to be a pretty good deal. The humans gave him food, shelter, relative safety, medical care when he started absorbing a few too many rads and even guaranteed amusement. (Because any creature who has hung out with humans long enough knows that they're either very peculiar beings or very hilarious and occasionally, both.)

The only thing in return was that he occasionally had to help lead the one hunter-gatherer towards the scary, armored water creatures that lived near the river. The rat also learned to keep its eye out for other dangers, such as groups of bad humans, or other dangerous animals and on occasions, the frighting green humans.

In this case, the coast was relatively clear. The rat was able to pick up about two of the armored water creatures, perhaps a little more. Its sense of smell was getting a little dull, spending all that time in that very hard rock human den. Regardless, it sat on its haunches and stretched its front paws out. It had watched the other humans communicate to each other like this and eventually figured out that this was how the humans told each other something was about. Of course, he realized his paws were not as well articulated as the humans' paws were.

"Hey rat, you think there's something ahead?" Carl asked the rodent. The mammal continued to hold its paws out. Of course it thought something was ahead, the rat could practically smell it. Geez, these humans were hopeless.

"How many mirelurks you think we got there?" Carl inquired, watching his fuzzy little friend. The rat really would have tried to signal how many it could smell with the digits on its paws but it only succeeded in waving its claws. The rodent chirped in frustration and decided the human could figure it out on its own.

"Haha, you stay right here. I'll be back with some food." Carl ordered. The rat sat further back on its back legs and licked its front paws. Of course it would wait here. The rat probably didn't have such a developed cerebrum as the human did but that at least meant it had an easier time deciding to avoid danger rather than go straight for it.

Carl stepped down into the river bank and looked ahead. He pulled out his new toy that he had been able to buy off a passing merchant trader. It was one of those super sledges, a vast improvement over his old one that he had lost in the city a year ago. Unfortunately, he found himself staring at two mirelurks guarding their eggs. As if on cue, the river's edge rippled and suddenly a full blown hunter also stepped onto the shore, all three of them quickly noticing him. Carl just smiled and returned the high tech hammer to his belt.

Thankfully, he also was able to acquire yet another new toy, this time from an dead Enclave soldier.

The mirelurks rushed towards the lone, giant man, expecting to rend him to pieces. However, before they were able to get too close, Carl pulled out his new favorite weapon: a gatling laser. Yes, the shredded mirelurk meat just wasn't the same as the mostly unblemished flesh from one killed with a sledge. On the flip side, at least these would come pre-cooked.

–

Scribe Lex sat in an old underground office copying down information from a holotape onto a specially treated brahmin hide manufactured to act as a sheet of parchment. The ironic thing was that after so many years of man copying his information on holotape, now they were trying to copy it back down on parchment since it was much harder to manufacture the high tech stuff in the wastes. Abruptly, he noticed a silhouette form in front of him and he carefully looked up. Standing before him was a young woman in the worn down robes of a Brotherhood Scribe.

"Scribe Kail? Julia? You've come back!" Scribe Lex cried joyfully, first calling his younger friend by her last name before switching to her first. Julia smiled and gave him a hug.

"Yes. I'm here to drop off my latest notes from the research I've been doing out in the wastes." the younger scribe replied, handing a stack of notes to the older man.

"Oh yes, thank you. Your notes have proven to be very helpful, Julia. We've been able to make medicines from common ingredients around the wastes that we would never have thought about. I was especially surprised with that homemade version of radaway. We still have not had the time to test out that weapon you described, though." Scribe Lex described. Julia blushed a bit.

"Well, I didn't do all of it myself..." Julia admitted.

"So, when will you be returning from your adventures and be joining us full time again, Scribe Kail?" Lex asked. Julia chuckled a bit before turning around and motioning for someone to join her. Lex looked up to see a regulator step from the shadows and take his place by her. The lawman removed a pair of shaded glasses from his face though he kept his brimmed, pre-war hat on. The older scribe also thought it curious that the man had a glove on one hand but not the other.

"It's Vanderbraun now, Lex. You can now called me Scribe Vanderbraun." Kail explained. Lex looked like his brain did a flip.

"W-what? Oh...oh my. Well, it looks like our little girl has gone out and married a wastelander. Well, good for you! Uh, what's your name again?" Lex asked, extending his hand to the regulator.

"James. James Vanderbraun." the regulator answered, returning the gesture.

"Scribe Lex, I'm here to pick up some stuff I left from awhile back. Could you please send for my rifle?" Kail asked.

"Oh yes, just let me quickly copy down your name for the records." Lex stated, quickly scribbling down "Julia Kail Vanderbraun" off to the margins of his parchment before disappearing in a back room.

"Here, I'd like you to have this." Julia said quietly to James, handing him one of her plasma pistols.

"I think you're going to need both of those." James replied.

"No, take this one and tuck it into your belt. You never found anything to replace your old shotgun anyway. Besides, this is much better." Julia asserted, strapping the weapon onto James' belt.

"You're really confident about this rifle, aren't you?" James asked.

"Yes." Julia smirked. Suddenly, Scribe Lex returned.

"Here you go, Julia." Lex stated, handing her the weapon. James' mouth immediately dropped.

"Y-you had a plasma rifle this whole time and you never told me?" James blathered.

"Oh yes. She's quite a good shot with that." Lex nodded seriously.

"I didn't think it was that important." Julia replied, making sure everything on the rifle was in place. James continued to stare at the weapon.

"Just be happy I let you have one of my pistols. Nice seeing you again, Lex. I'll return soon. Bye!" Julia bid farewell while leading James who was still coveting after the plasma rifle.

--

James and Julia stood on the outskirts of New York City, waiting on the bank of the Hudson River. They were enjoying the warm sun of the mid-afternoon though they also kept an eye out for any of the passing ships that might go by. Pirates were becoming notoriously busy in this area.

"I wonder what is taking Adam so long." James asked, sitting on a sizable stone.

"I'm pretty sure he's spending a little more time with Marilyn." Julia answered, taking the spot next to him.

"He didn't say he would take that long, though I'm impressed on how the Brotherhood was able to take over the surrounding harbor around the wreck of the _Defiance_." James commented.

"Yeah, I heard that they turned the whole place around it into the base as they still use some of the computers on the old cruiser. Of course, everything they can use is on its side now." Julia explained. The old cruiser had capsized on the dock, resting on its side.

"I see." James murmured, rubbing his mechanical left arm.

It had taken him awhile to get used to the fancy thing. Julia was just glad he no longer looked at it like some sort of tumor growing out of him though it still seemed that he was uncomfortable around it. Yes, she did know he appreciated having two limbs again. He even enjoyed a few more unexpected perks that came with it. His left arm now was completely steady when wiring machines or making repairs. This even meant that when he aimed, the drift of his rifle was kept to a minimal as it was now a machine that was holding it steady.

Yet, every now and then Julia caught him making uncomfortable glances at it, as if he somehow felt a little less than human now with a machine growing out of his side. She was impressed when he brought his mechanical and human hand together and interlocked his fingers like most people waiting would do. She had seen few people outfitted with the prosthetic achieve that kind of dexterity with it.

"Hey...thanks again for doing that operation." James murmured.

"What operation?" Julia smiled.

"You know, giving me this new arm."

"James, you don't need to thank me every four months." Julia giggled.

"Yeah well, I was just thinking on how lucky I am to have two arms." James admitted.

"Really?" Julia asked.

"Yes, but that also means I'm the luckiest guy on earth to have you." James whispered. Julia only smiled and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I think that's Adam right there." James announced, pointing to a shadow in the distance, the tails of a coat clearly falling behind it.

"Sure looks like him." Julia stated.

"Hmm...something's wrong." James murmured.

"What? Whatever could be wrong?" Julia asked in mild alarm.

"Something about the way he's walking. There's something wrong."

A few moments later, Adam was much closer to them. He appeared tired though it was clear to both of his friends that the man was not exactly in the best of moods.

"So how did the visit to the House go? Did Ramirez report any trouble?" James asked, trying to be cheerful.

"They're fine." Adam grumbled.

"Oh." James stated, suddenly deciding to tread carefully.

"Come on, lets go. We're burning daylight." Adam muttered, trudging forward. Both James and Julia carefully fell into step behind him.

"So...how's everyone else over there?" Julia asked.

"Fine." Adam grunted.

"So...you doing all right, man?" James inquired.

"I'm just awesome." Adam shot, his voice practically radiating sarcasm. James sighed.

"Well, if you say so." the man shrugged. They continued to walk on in silence.

"She bloody broke up with me!" Adam suddenly announced. James winced while Julia's mouth dropped.

"M-Marilyn broke up with you? Whatever for?" Julia asked in shock.

"She sends me on this whole goose chase saying that I'm never around, even though you guys knew I was visiting every single bloody weekend, giving me such a hard time about it, decides to break up with me before I can convince her otherwise or make any offers and then finally admits that she cheated on me!" Adam ranted, still trudging along.

"Ouch. Dude, sorry about that..." James apologized.

"Oh Adam...well, you deserve better than that anyway." Julia consoled.

"Darn straight." Adam grumbled and continued walking.

–

So other than the recent relationship hiccup, Adam would describe that everything had been going just fine. Francis, the head of the regulator corp based in the New York region, still had him in charge of this unit. Originally, Francis had put him in charge of James Vanderbraun, Carl Thompson and a pyromaniac named Sven. James still provided battlefield medicine and marksman support while Carl handled the heavy weaponry. When they needed to make something explode or burn in spectacular fashion, they sent Sven in. Of course, over the past year they picked up Julia who had been a Brotherhood scribe. She still was on the Brotherhood's roster but she was also one of the latest recruits into the regulators, joining in her husband's lead. She split the medical duties with James but they also learned that if the situation had anything to do with high technology, she would probably have an idea about it.

They had also picked up a rat. However, they all personally believed that in a way the rat had instead adopted them because it started following them one day and had not run away yet. Adam refrained from calling the rodent a "pet" because the furry little creature seemed to be extremely intelligent for an animal with its brain size. It had even saved their lives at one point. Still, until it learned how to operate weaponry, Adam also refused to call the rodent a full time member as well.

Otherwise, Adam himself provided the leadership and shadier skills to the unit. Before he was a regulator, he was an assassin and some swore he could become a shadow, not simply blend with them. He was skilled in the art of the silent kill and even preferred his throwing blades and daggers to his silenced pistol and his SMG. Recently, he managed to find an old Chinese longsword which he spent his spare time sharpening.

Sighing, he put down the new weapon and contemplated getting a snack from the pantry. Of course, that was different now that Julia tended to keep the kitchens a little tidier than the guys were used to. Now, he could just take a can of Pork n Beans and tossed the thing in the scrap metal pile-

Adam braced himself as a sudden explosion rocked his room and jarred a few objects that were not bolted down. There was some silence as every soul in the Vault wondered the same thing, did their local pyromaniac finally go out with a boom? Sighing in exasperation, the man tapped on a nearby intercom button and spoke into the transmission.

"Sven, are you dead?" Adam asked. Whole Vault was filled with the noise of Sven's maniacal laughter over the intercom. Adam didn't want to think on what kind of explosion Sven set off that would jar the Vault like that but not kill the pyromaniac.

It was good to have things back to normal.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: For those who don't know, this is being written in conjunction to EasyCompany506's story, _Fallen Angels_. Go check it out

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"_Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternative."_

"_We cannot control the evil tongue of others; but a good life enables us to disregard them."_

_-attributed to Cato the Elder, Roman senator_

_--_

James was in a dilemma. He often had to contemplate this problem on occasional mornings. Julia slept on his right side. Who could blame her? No one wants to roll over and land on a hard metal object, otherwise known as his left arm. However, she also like to cuddle. (He would never complain about this.) This translated in her often snuggling up next to him to rest her head under his chin. (He also would never complain about this.)

Unfortunately, this often meant that his right arm would fall asleep. This, he also cannot complain about.

This fact would not be so much of a problem, a little numbness never killed anyone, except that he was feeling a little more than just mild pain on his left side. James could not believe it but even though he no longer had a human left arm, he felt pain in it, from the biceps to the forearm. He knew it was not the machine itself, there were no sensors in it. His hunch was confirmed after he did some searching in the Vault library. It seemed rather similar to this condition he found called "Phantom Limb" but he could not think of how any of the prescribed treatments could be done this day and age. He just had to deal with it.

The pain was becoming excruciating.

After learning that it was psychological, all in his head of course, James would rub or massage the metal arm. Incredibly, it helped a little. It probably didn't make the pain completely go away but it at least dulled it and eventually he would forget it was there. That was not exactly easy when your wife was fast asleep on your other arm.

Seriously, he thanked God every day for her. He leaned down to kiss her on the head and in so doing he ended up tickling his nose on her near shoulder length hair. Great, now he needed to sneeze. Desperate, he had just been able to suppress the instinct when Julia peacefully woke up. She greeted him with a kiss on the lips.

"Good morning." she cooed.

"Good morning." James grinned. All in all, everything wasn't so bad.

Adam left his room, his eyes still heavy with fatigue as he slowly made his way towards the bathroom. He kept telling himself that this thing with Marilyn wasn't really bothering him all that much. Of course, he also knew that a mild hangover said otherwise. Regardless, he understood he would be through the fog after an hour or so. The numbness from the breakup? Bah, he had stopped trying to figure that crap out.

Speaking of crap, he suddenly realized that the rat had been living with them for about a year. He never recalled actually getting the rodent house trained and it was eating with them all this time. The regulator suddenly felt a wave of horror go over him as he started wondering where in the world was the creature dropping all its, well, droppings. Was there some forgotten room in the Vault somewhere that was now cemented in rat crap?

No sooner had he thought that, having reached the bathroom door, the metal barrier opened up before he could hit the button and the rat slowly shuffled out of the room. Hearing the sound of one of the commodes shutting off from a recent use, Adam could only stare in shock as the furry rodent continued on its way, business as usual.

Adam decided that the rat was far more intelligent than they really gave it credit for.

James wandered into the kitchens, wearing his duster as usual. He had been wearing the coat a lot more often as that helped to hide the artificial arm. All he needed to add was a brahmin leather glove and then he hoped people just thought he lost the other glove rather than guess that perhaps the arm wasn't exactly human. Carl and Sven were already eating breakfast, as well as the rat who was stuffing its snout contently into a can of Pork n Beans. James noticed that Sven still had some of his features darkened by soot.

"So...what exactly where you playing with last night?" James asked incredulously.

"Some little thing called 'Potassium.' Didn't exactly produce the biggest or most dangerous explosion, but realize it only needs water to go off." Sven grinned.

"So...?" James failed to see where the pyromaniac was going with it.

"So it explodes and also gives radiation because of the water it stirs up. I don't need to scavenge for any extra radioactive materials. Just add water! " Sven reported with a little too much glee.

"I'll just stick with food recipes rather than disaster recipes." Carl announced, tossing a warm can of Pork n Beans to James.

"Got any brahmin milk to counteract the rads in this?" James asked. A glass of the questionable looking milk slid across the counter to him while Carl simultaneously flipped a few Salisbury steak patties on the grill. Adam chose that moment to step into room as well.

"You're not exactly looking bright eyed and bushy tailed, Adam." Sven told the man.

"You're not exactly looking like you're in your right mind." Adam grumbled irritably.

"Thank God; if I was we'd know something was wrong." Sven replied. Regardless, the men understood that Adam's less than jubilant response and mood meant he was either still smarting from the break up, a little hung over or probably both.

Breakfast continued in silence even after Julia arrived, who quickly picked up on the situation and also ate quietly.

The regulators had come to the conclusion that they were going to have to take a few days off again as well as do a little rethinking on their strategies. Adam thought on that firefight that occurred not but a few days ago that brought them to a rather harsh wake up call...

–

_Once again, Adam decided it was about time that they made one of those raids off the beaten path. They had spent a good deal of time clearing out the Bronx and Manhattan areas but they had largely neglected the east side after their last foray there with the super mutants and the Brotherhood of Steel's Iron Storm troops. This time, they headed off towards an area that had been known as Queens. That was going to require the possibility of crossing a river. Hopefully they could find a working bridge or other such crossing arrangement. _

_ On the west side was the Hudson river but on the east, separating the central part of the ruined city from Queens, was where the New York bay broke off and entered into what was once Long Island Sound. There was a narrow crossing, or rather two, where a smaller island sat in between the two large bodies of land. _

_Unfortunately, the old Queensboro bridge had seen better days since the Great War. _

_ "You really think this won't...you know, collapse the moment we step on it?" Carl asked with a shrug as they gazed at the ancient wreck. Whole patches in the bridge had corroded while some sections lacked pavement. All but the strongest beams seemed to have weakened drastically. Sure, some holes had been patched up by previous human activity but it all looked very flimsy indeed. _

_ "It's the only way unless we find a boat and we're already up here. What do you think, James?" Adam asked, looking over at their marksman. James glanced at the whole thing. _

_ "Yeah, it looks fine to cross." James stated. _

_ "Really?" Carl asked skeptically. _

_ "Sure, if you don't mind the risk of suddenly falling to your death." James finished. Adam scoffed. _

_ "You're all very ridiculous. Just follow me. This thing has been standing for the past two hundred years and I doubt it'll pick today to fall." Adam grumbled, leading them on. Having left the rat back at the House, the five cautiously moved on into the bridge._

_ The sound of the wind howling through the bones of the old bridge didn't help pacify any qualms they might have had. Even Adam was feeling extremely nervous but darn it, someone had to see that Queens wasn't running amok if they were any decent human beings living there. _

_ "Always look for movement or anything out of place. You'll know what stands out and what doesn't after awhile. The moment you hear gunfire, you immediately head for cover while trying to figure out where it came from. Always reload behind cover and whatever you do, do not get caught out in the open." James muttered to Julia. This was her first mission out with them as a regulator. She blended right in with the men, shedding her Brotherhood of Steel scholarly robes for a combat armor, regulator coat and her old combat helmet which was probably a size too big for her head. Naturally, James was worried about her safety. _

_ "James?" Julia asked. _

_ "Yes?" _

_ "Honey, you've told me all of that. Three times at least already." Julia stated flatly. James bit his lip. That was certainly awkward. _

_ "Uh...just reviewing." James grumbled. _

_ "James, I need your eyes up front, I think I spotted something." Adam whispered, crouching down and getting behind one of the old car wrecks. Everyone else also followed his example before James scanned the forward area with the scope on his rail rifle. _

_ "You're right. Movement. Raiders, they've set up an ambush." James whispered. _

_ "So what do we do?" Carl asked, readying his gatling laser. _

_ "They've dragged a bunch of the cars together to provide some cover. They look unexploded though they may still be hot." James replied, referring to the still live fusion elements in the vehicle's engines. _

_ "Awesome. I'll just throw a grenade and they'll all go out in one big flash of happy awesomeness." Sven snickered. _

_ "Yes, except that big flash of happy awesomeness will also turn into a massive boom of hurt and death when it destabilizes this whole bridge with us on it." Adam retorted. _

_ "Hmmm...that would be a bit of a drawback..." Sven murmured in thought. _

_ "I'll take care of this." James murmured and lined up the scope on his modified railway rifle. Already chambered with a clip of eight of his own custom made heavy metal bolts, he spotted the barrel of a rifle sticking from the side of an old car door. A raider was crouching behind it. James could not get a proper fix on the raider himself. _

_ Not that he needed to. _

_ A sharp whistle cracked the air and a hole suddenly appeared in the car door, the heavy round shredding the ancient steel, causing the raider behind it to seemingly explode in a flash of red mist as his chest simply disintegrated, sending body parts in all directions. _

_ Knowing their ruse had been figured out, the raiders reacted with a vengeance. Ricocheting bullets popping off the surfaces of the cover the regulators had been hiding behind. Cautiously, Julia called out a question. _

_ "So what do we do now?" _

_ "This is where we let Carl, Sven and James take care of the problem as they can fire effectively at these long ranges." Adam replied. Carl got up and started sending a fury of laser blasts in the raiders' direction. The energy beams shredded and fried any surface they touched. Carl was rewarded when a raider's arm simply fell right off. Adam noticed Carl sweep the whole length of a car with the gun. _

_ "Guys, try not to blow up the cars! We want to keep this bridge intact!" Adam shouted over the noise. Sven sent a bunch of raiders running from one of their comrades who was unfortunate enough to get caught in a blast of napalm from the heavy incinerator. _

_ "Doing our best, boss." Carl called, biting his lips as he ripped a piece of sheet metal in half before swinging the lasers back to shred the cowering raiders. A stray one got his head nailed clean off by one of James' bolts. Two more got caught within one of Sven's flame launched incinerator pellets. _

_ Suddenly, they saw a flash of light fly into the sky. Apparently, a raider had fired an old rescue flare high into the heavens. Julia squinted at the peculiar sight. _

_ "I wonder what that was for?" Julia muttered. Out of nowhere, a vicious hail of bullets started peppering the old wreck Adam was hiding behind, driving the man from cover to find a safer place. Unfortunately, in trying to get away, Adam ventured too close to a open hole in the middle of the bridge. _

_ The next thing the regulator knew, he was holding onto dear life while contemplating the long drop to the river below. Julia immediately sprung into action. _

_ "Hang on!" Julia called, rushing to reach Adam. Another flurry of bullets fired, this time closer to the woman, preventing her from getting to Adam. It was coming from under the bridge. _

_ "That flare was a signal. They have backup from the river! They got a ship down there!" Adam deduced. He also figured out the raiders were aiming on purposefully making him fall into the water. They wanted him still alive, apparently. _

_ "Carl, you can't fire on that ship because the lasers will trace your position. Keep the raiders on the bridge at bay. James, Sven, blast that thing so I can get back up!" Adam ordered desperately. _

_ "No problem, just hang in there." Sven replied. _

_ "Oh trust me, I'm hanging." Adam growled unhappily. James was the first to assess the situation. _

_ "Small ship, probably one of the smaller ferries back in the day. They have a minigun on the bow and it's getting closer." he took a snap shot at the man loading the minigun before he had to dive back behind cover from the actual gunner. _

_ "They got me so you need to come from another position and blast that thing." James told Sven. _

_ "Understood." Sven nodded, readying his dual missile and mini-nuke launcher. Hefting it on his shoulder, he rushed towards the edge of the bridge to join James when a spark materialized on the side of the weapon, throwing both it and Sven to the ground. _

_ "Sven!" Julia called. Adam cursed. _

_ "Come on, Carl! What are you doing!? Covering fire, man! Covering fire!" Adam berated. _

_ "I don't see you helping." Carl retorted, his gatling laser still zoning in on targets. Sven suddenly got up. _

_ "You all right, Sven?" James asked. _

_ "No, I'm not." Sven replied unhappily, sitting up. _

_ "Where are you hit?" James asked, reaching into his new satchel. Julia watched on nervously. She made a motion to get to Adam again only to be driven back by a hornet's nest of rounds. _

_ "It's not me that's hit. It's my launcher. The bullet took out the wires, it won't arm the missiles." Sven explained, showing the ruined mess of wires that fed into the launcher. Adam cursed again. _

_ "Well, figure something out, I can't hold on like this forever!" Adam screamed. Sven gritted his teeth and looked at his launcher again. Tentatively, he played with a switch and tested the trigger to be rewarded by the mini-nuke launch plate springing to life. _

_ "Well, you better hope that ship is close enough." Sven muttered, reaching into his bag to pull out a mini-nuke. Ready, he quickly stormed up to the edge and made a quick mental guesstimate on the river pirates' ship before adjusting the angle he held the launcher. _

_ "We're going to have a little more than smoke on the water." Sven chuckled and sent the round airborne. _

_ The ship simply disappeared in a raging fireball. Exhilarated, Sven fell flat on his back laughing his head off while Julia reached over and helped pull Adam to safety. That done, Carl finished off the last of the raiders on the bridge. _

_ "Well, that's new." Carl announced, walking back to them, steam still rising from the gatling lasers. _

_ "I'm feeling really bad about those fingers we'll never get on the ship." Adam mumbled. _

_ "Is this how most adventures end for you guys?" Julia asked, watching Sven continue to howl with laughter, tears streaming down his face as he held his aching stomach. _

_ "Yes, but few have the revelation that the enemy is bringing in a new tactic." James muttered, still watching the ferry continue to slip beneath the waters. They stood around for a moment._

_ "We're going to have to do some rethinking on our strategies." James announced. _

_ "Yeah...after we check Queens out." Adam stated. _

_ He wasn't kidding. _

–

Adam let himself come out of the haze of remembering realizing he had finally walked out of the hangover. Unfortunately, another rather bad sound echoed through the Vault. This time, it wasn't an explosion.

It was the alarm stating that there was someone at the door.

Naturally, everyone in the Vault grabbed a weapon and headed straight for the door. The rat was the only exception. It voted to scurry under a bed.


	3. Chapter 3

"_It is love alone that gives worth to all things." _

_-St. Theresa_

"_Being cheerful and affable with people is by itself half of wisdom."_

_-Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq_

"_Like sacrifices, prayer is intended to change man, not God."_

_-Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits_

_

* * *

  
_

The Vaults built before the war were in every way summed up by the word, except perhaps in the sense of safety. Most of them were literally psychological traps meant to feed the twisted curiosity of the already operating Enclave. The particular Vault the regulators had found was one of the private ones where the original builders were probably more diligent in keeping up to regulation standards. This probably meant that there was no intentional traps built in it with the exception of the actual design of the vault. Should anything come knocking down on their door with superior firepower, they might actually be in a mildly fatal problem.

The problem with Vaults is that they were all practically giant, underground, metal mausoleums.

Adam and James were the first to get to the entrance followed by Carl, who hid further down the hall, keeping his gatling laser in the shadows. James was only able to grab one of Julia's plasma pistols and his short blade while Adam was handling his SMG. The three men glanced apprehensively at each other before Adam looked at the entrance terminal. He studied the viewer which feed into a camera that watched the outside entrance. He saw three figures in the camera.

"Mark?" Adam asked skeptically, unsure of the central figure loitering nervously in front of the viewer. The visitor hit a button on the outside terminal.

"Yeah, it's me, Adam. I know you gave me the password but I figured it would be rather discourteous not to knock first if you were home." Mark's voice explained over the intercom.

"Well...thanks, I guess. Come in." Adam shrugged and gave the all clear signal to the machine. Him and the others gave a sigh of relief. The great, heavy door slowly groaned open and rolled to the side. Adam could see that their colleague had not changed much, same old duster, five o'clock shadow on his face and well maintained Chinese assault rifle. However, it did appear that he had a new crew.

"Guys! It's great to see you again." Mark greeted as he and his companions stepped through the door while Carl stepped from the shadows so that the six could meet each other.

"Care to introduce us to your new team?" Carl suggested.

"Ah yes, Carl, James and Adam, this is Cindy and VR-5, though he likes to be called 'Norad.'" Mark explained.

"Any particular reason?" James asked.

"That is 'Sergeant Norad' to you, soldier!" the robot barked.

"I'll personally go with faulty programming." Mark muttered quietly.

"Well, nice to meet you all. Where are you from, Cindy?" Adam asked. The woman had blonde hair which was tied down into two braids that fell behind her back while her face had baby blue eyes. Under the duster, she only seemed to come up to five foot two and the weapon she carried, one that none of the regulators had ever seen, was dominated around what had once been a leaf blower. They also spotted what might have been a rather keen looking hatchet attached to her hip on her belt.

"Around." Cindy simply replied before wandering past them, appearing both mindlessly and utterly in awe at the Vault at the same time. Though slightly taken aback, the guys did not stop her as she ambled deeper into the Vault.

"Hey, nice plasma pistol. That's new, James." Mark pointed out.

"Oh yeah, got it from my wife." James shrugged. Mark's mouth dropped.

"James, you married!? Wha- when!? Who?" Mark blathered in shock.

"Six, seven months ago. Don't worry, Adam's single again." James stated, trying to bounce attention off of himself. Mark seemed to drop into deeper levels of bewilderment.

"You got into a relationship between now and then?" Mark demanded.

"Yeah, just broke up, I'd rather not talk about it. You could ask James about his arm." Adam mumbled, returning the favor.

"Yeah...I'd rather not talk about that either." James grumbled, only removing his glove to let Mark gawk at the bionic digits.

"You lost your arm and got it replaced!?" Mark cried. Carl decided to step in.

"I replaced my gun!" Carl announced happily, showing off the gatling laser.

"Seriously, how much can you guys change in just one year?" Mark asked, trying to process all the changes. Mark was not a man who liked changes.

"James, is this a friend?" Julia suddenly appeared, wearing her Brotherhood robes. James placed a hand on her back as she stepped up next to him.

"Julia, you remember Mark? He was on Leslie's crew." James explained. Mark shot a bewildered look at James.

"You married the Brotherhood scribe!?" Mark asked incredulously.

"Hello Mark, my name is Julia." Julia offered a hand, smiling brightly as she understood the man's shock or at least was trying to. Mark nervously shook her hand.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to imply that I disproved...it just a lot more than I expected." Mark apologized.

"It's okay." Julia accepted. As if on cue, the rat decided to show up for a moment, sniff the air and then disappeared back into the Vault. A moment of silence hung in the air.

"He's...a mascot." Carl explained. Mark sighed as if formulating one last question.

"Is Sven still insane?" Mark asked, struggling for some form of normalcy.

"Oh yes, he hasn't changed at all." James stated.

"Oh good." Mark sighed in relief.

"We did not come here just for a chit chat, commander." Norad butted in. Mark slapped his forehead.

"Oh shoot, I forgot. Hey, you mind if we talk about what I have to tell you over a meal? I'm hungry." Mark announced.

"Well...the kitchen is still warm so yes. Good timing." Adam shrugged.

–

Adam sat across from Mark as he took out a file to sharpen his Chinese longsword while James simply sat down. Adam had beaten the habit into James to be around when important meetings and decisions were to be made. He often referred to James as his 'human computer' who was amazingly still sharp despite being off mentats.

Mark meanwhile was wolfing down a cooked mirelurk egg and mutfruit.

"So anyway, first off I must talk about Cindy." Mark announced through mouthfuls. James and Adam glanced at each other.

"You're not tying the knot, are you?" James asked. Mark nearly choked in response.

"Oh heck no. Nothing like that." Mark shook his head vigorously.

"Then what?" Adam asked.

"Cindy represents the poster child of a new policy Francis is trying to enact. Of course, she's the poster child because she's the first and only one to participate in this new policy." Mark started.

"And what is this new policy?" Adam asked.

"Rehabilitating raiders." Mark stated as a matter of fact. This time, it was James' and Adam's turn to pull a double take.

"Wait. What?" James demanded.

"Has the old man finally drowned his mind in a bottle of whiskey or has his age caught up to him?" Adam quipped.

"Neither." Mark replied.

"So why is he doing this? What does this entail?" James asked. Mark swallowed his last bite and washed it down with a glass of water.

"Okay, it's not unheard of for raiders to quit their ways and try to live less...murderous lives." Mark started.

"Not unheard of but for me personally, still unseen." James replied.

"What he said." Adam agreed, motioning towards James.

"Yes. Francis explained to me that its highly unlikely too many raiders will see the light, especially in the middle of the firefight but he also said that we of all the people in the wastes would probably be able to discern a raider who...has a better chance to turn than the savages who only, and will only, ever know how to kill." Mark continued.

"Get to the point." Adam directed.

"I found Cindy as a raider two months ago. She was the last one left of her gang so she threw down her arms and begged me to spare her life. I gave her a chance and Francis agreed. So far, she hasn't killed me nor done anything too crazy." Mark said.

"Too crazy?" Adam asked.

"In case you hadn't noticed, she's a little messed up in the head. All that Francis is saying is that, although you should still use your wisdom and discernment...giving a person a chance should now be an option." Mark finished.

"What do you mean by 'a little messed up in the head?'" James inquired carefully.

"She's a little...daring. She knows how to obtain things without being noticed." Mark explained.

"In other words, she's a thief." Adam smirked.

"Yes, a very good thief, but she's also my demolitions expert." Mark added. Both of the men allowed their eyes to pop open.

"What do you mean by 'demolitions expert?'" James demanded, starting to feel a little redundant.

"You know how Sven's a little...of a pyromaniac?" Mark asked nervously. James and Adam nodded.

"She's worse." Mark admitted. James and Adam continued to stare.

"Define 'worse.'" James ordered. Adam sighed.

"There was one small incident in her rehabilitation..."

–

_Mark walked up the crest of the sandy hill, his chin rested between his finger and thumb which was stroking the bottom of his jaw thoughtfully. He was in quite a predicament. It sure did not help that there did not seem to be plausible solution to the whole thing. _

_ A group of raiders grew a brain and threw together a very well defended compound. Heavy concrete and steel composed a tough bastion that surrounded a very open pen of ghouls. Where the ghouls came from, Mark was not sure but he did know that these raiders took great entertainment in tormenting them before dousing them in irradiated war to let them heal from the day's torture. He and Cindy had observed that the ghouls only looked forward to possibly being sold off into slavery, at least it would be a break from the endless days of torture with the raiders. _

_ And Mark had not the slightest clue on how to break the ghouls out of there. _

_ "I don't know how to do it, Cindy. I haven't a bloody idea." Mark complained, dejectedly sitting in the dirt. He had sneaked around in a tense circuit and could not find a single weak spot. To attack from any direction would be suicide for just him and Cindy. However, he could not just walk away from this, leaving the ghouls to suffer. Cindy stood by him for a moment, thinking. _

_ "At lunch yesterday, you saw them all drink from a single case at the same time, right? Wasn't the stuff they were drinking Nuka-Cola Quantum?" Cindy asked thoughtfully. _

_ "Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?" Mark demanded, still frustratedly glaring at the compound. He failed to notice Cindy give him an answer. After a moment, he glanced over to where she was standing. _

_ "Cindy, you haven't told me what that..." Mark stared bewildered at Cindy's abandoned duster coat and explosive's launcher. His confused eyes darted around. _

_ "Cindy? Where did you go?" Mark whispered. Alarmed, his gaze wandered back towards the compound where he saw a figure sneak up to the door. Mark immediately groaned. _

_ It appeared Cindy had shed the coat to go dirty herself up with sand and mud, found enough wasteland refuse to strap onto her body to look like another raider, and tied a bandana around the bottom of her face to conceal her identity. Mark could only watched horrified at what he was seeing. Cindy simply popped the lock on the unguarded door and wandered right in looking just like one of the raiders. Mark was not sure whether to avert his gaze or keep staring in terror. _

_ Feeling the need to do something, he shouldered his Chinese assault rifle but something told him not to move, not to raise an alarm or do something stupid. Several tense minutes later, though it felt like an eternity, Mark was rewarded by Cindy sneaking out the door and quickly weaved her way through the rocks back to where he was standing on the ridge. She immediately started discarding the disguise and threw her duster back on as well as her regular equipment. _

_ "What the heck did you do?" Mark demanded. _

_ "I looked through their supplies and just as I suspected, they kept their Nuka-Cola Quantum next to a few other things." Cindy explained, straightening out the two braids on her head. _

_ "Care to explain?" Mark asked. _

_ "Ever heard of a 'Nuka Grenade?'" Cindy inquired. _

_ "Not really." Mark answered. _

_ "It's a very powerful explosive that you can make out of Nuka-Cola Quantum and various supplies around the wastes. I modified the concoction. Just add the proper ingredients at the right amounts, sneak it into their drinks and the acid in their stomachs should trigger the detonation." Cindy explained. Mark just stared at her, unsure what to say. _

_ As if on cue, the raiders came out with a case of the Nuka-Cola Quantum out in front of the pen of the ghouls. The tormented creatures all rushed forward, pleading for a cooling drink from the burning sun. Instead, the raiders mocked them, keeping the drinks just out of their reach before they all popped the caps and readied to drink the beverage themselves all at the same time. Mark's eyes suddenly went wide. _

_ "Cindy, how big is the explosion?" Mark demanded on the verge of panic. Cindy simply shrugged. _

_ "Does it matter?" Cindy asked. _

_ "They're close to the ghouls! We can't hurt the ghouls!" Mark explained. _

_ "It's a radiated explosion. It'll just heal them." _

_ "Not if the initial explosion kills them outright!" Mark cried. Cindy's mouth suddenly dropped. _

_ "Oh...ooh...hmmm..." _

_ And suddenly, they watched as all of the raiders simply exploded from their stomachs all at once. The combined detonation effectively blew them apart simultaneously but the collateral damage took out most of the ghouls. Mark covered his mouth, appalled at what just happened. _

_ "Cindy...we can't hurt innocents...even if we kill the bad guys, we cannot even harm those who do not deserve justice...not even ghouls..." Mark stated, too broken to yell at her. _

–

"Last incident I had with her. She got the message but anyone who knows how to turn someone's own stomach into a bomb...yeah..." Mark trailed off with a shrug. James and Adam stared blankly at loss for words.

"She and Sven..." Adam blathered.

"Can't meet." James finished. Mark only shrugged, completely at loss as that seemed impossible at this point.

"I swear, if those two meet-"

"We're all screwed." Adam finished for James this time.

"Well, before you go and stop a possible match made in hell, I have a message for you guys." Mark cautioned, pulling out a letter. Adam took the parchment and started unrolling it.

"It's from Francis. He said he wanted you guys to read it." Mark explained.

"He couldn't simply tell you the message?" James asked as Adam worked to get the letter out of the envelope.

"Nope." Mark answered.

"Well that's bloody stupid." Adam grumbled, reading the message. As usual, Francis was breathtakingly to the point.

_"Adam, bring your crew. Get up here. Now. Signed: Francis." _

"He only said that before you get on with whatever he ordered, you were first to give me, Cindy and Norad a tour of the city so we knew what to defend as well as whatever information you may have had." Mark finished.

"The last time Francis sent me a message like this, I ended up going down to New York City before anyone else. I can't imagine what he's going to do to us now." Adam grumbled.

* * *

_Author's note: First off, thanks Tedsini for your fair reviews and I take no offense at all. _

_Truth be told, I could use an editor. Anyone with too much time on their hands who wants the job? _


	4. Chapter 4

"_In a gun fight...you need to take your time in a hurry."_

_-Wyatt Earp_

* * *

There is a mountain range in southern New York to the west of the Hudson river. In fact, this is the same mountain range a certain regulator named James Vanderbraun grew up in. The Enclave agent had done his research after running into the man. Regardless, this mountain range, once called the "Catskills," always had the stories of the bizarre and the supernatural surrounding them. In fact, the original natives that lived in the area believed that this particular mountain range was where earth touched the sky. Even Henry Hudson and his band of explorers claimed that there were strange happenings when they passed through the area. More than one legend or tall tale came from this sleepy if peculiar area.

Agent Daniel Siaga wondered if he was experiencing one of those events that would eventually birth a legend.

It had been a year since the Enclave agent was tasked with the mission to seek out and capture a missing girl who had been an experiment in the research department. This time, his mission came from a joint concern from both the research _and_ the military branch of the Enclave.

He was really starting to wish that he could just go back to recovering misplaced Enclave property.

The man knew that something was wrong the moment he was told he would be briefed and equipped en route to the drop off location. On the books, there was a rule that even in a circumstance like this, you could simply refuse the mission before the landing. Unfortunately, usually by that time you knew too much so the operators would have no choice but to exterminate you and make sure your body disappeared. Darn his high performance record.

He especially knew something was wrong when he was given what had been a requisitioned Chinese stealth suit, this one camouflaged to the dull tan and brown that matched most of the wastes in former New York for when he had not activated the stealth fields. They were even so nice to give it extra ballistic padding (which was also alarming) and what really got him sweating was when the commanding officer explained that special systems were plugged into the suit. In other words, Daniel had been given an armored and stealthed up biological suit.

The silenced weapon that had been nicknamed "Infiltrator" rifles with a collapsible stock, silenced sniper rifle and a combat knife simply nailed the coffin shut. Daniel knew he was being sent on one of those mission that just might kill you.

Even his instructions were vague. He was to go through the communities and head north while remaining undetected. Strange readings had been picked up on the Enclave's sensors, readings that, although the commanding officer did not specify what, did not make sense to their scientist.

Daniel was to figure out what was going on.

Crouching, his stealth fields up, Daniel sneaked into what had once been a small community of wastelanders. He knew there was something immediately wrong with the place and that was the simple fact that there was nothing there. Absolutely nothing. No people, no noise, no signs of struggle, no blood, fires, smoke, embers, ash. Nothing.

Scratch that, he just found a body.

Daniel stepped over the corpse that was lying face down. Now it was time to figure out what caused this. Stepping down towards the main street, he nearly jumped out of his skin by the macabre sight that greeted him. It appeared that most of the former inhabitants had collapsed and died right out there in the community center, their swollen bodies rotting under the overcast skies. Still keeping out of sight, Daniel crept up to a building and slowly pushed the door aside while keeping his infiltrator shouldered.

All the occupants were dead.

The agent let his mind work furiously. There were no bullet holes, no signs of struggle. People normally did not just die like this for no reason and yet some of the bodies seemed to be in strange positions, as if the people had been in great agony just before they died. He came up to the bodies in the community square again and got a closer look.

Red, bloodied blisters had formed all over their skin. Some of them had trails of black, coagulated blood that dried around their mouths. It was a rather horrifying sight. Young mothers clutched their dead babies while adult men rotted next to the corpses of their elders. All of them were pock marked and spotted with those grotesque red blisters.

Daniel swung around in alarm when he heard a noise. He was immediately greeted by the sight of a deathclaw at the end of the street, nibbling at one of the corpses. Daniel could feel sweat trickling down his forehead as he himself no longer dared to breathe. Had that monster sensed his presence despite the stealth field? Daniel kept his infiltrator locked and his finger ready to pull the trigger.

And then, quite suddenly, the deathclaw dropped dead.

A dark thought crossing through his mind, Daniel rushed up to inspect the deceased creature. He was horrified by what he saw. The monster was also covered in the red spots. This was a disease, an illness that did not know the bounds between species but killed humans and animals alike. Daniel belatedly noticed that even the Brhamin were dead.

Daniel activated his transmitter and whispered a radioed transmission.

"Command, this is Delta Sierra, I'm reporting what looks like a disease in the area. I'm suggesting you send a team from R&D to inspect my current location. Delta Sierra moving north, over."

"Roger Delta Sierra, transmission logged and teams will be readied. How hot is the area? Would you suggest armed escorts? Over." Command asked.

"Negative, Command. There's nothing living in the area. Over."

–

Mark, Cindy and Norad the Mr. Gutsy stood outside the House, staring at the imposing building towering over them. For Mark, he could not help but admire the beacon of humanity that presided over all the other ruins of New York City. In a way, it was kind of a marvel that the skyscraper still was intact after all these years, especially after surviving the blast of the Great War. Unfortunately, he had become accustomed to it. The House especially lost its luster after his group leader, Leslie, was killed there a year ago.

Cindy on the other hand had never seen it before. Most of the buildings she had seen barely breached five stories. This thing just went on up forever. Trying to hide the feeling of being rather small, the former raider busied herself sorting all the equipment she had on her. Sticks of dynamite with rudimentary arrowheads ran along her waist in her ammo belt. The arrowheads were made less to kill and more to simply stick to flesh or objects when they hit. Raider sadism is a hard stain to get rid of. Of course, she still carried her trusty SMG though it could certainly use a little cleaning sometime.

"Your directives now, commanding officer?" Norad asked. Mark cast a mildly amused glance at the robot.

"Well, Adam and the others were so nice as to simply give us a map and tell us that everything has been quiet for awhile. If we find anything, they had no clue about it themselves." Mark stated.

"Correct but this does not give us a plan of attack, sir." Norad complained.

"I know. We'll rest a bit here and ask the people around if they've heard of any trouble or things of that nature." Mark explained.

"You think they have a place where I could get a good drink?" Cindy asked.

"Carl mentioned 'The View.' We'll look there first." Mark said, leading them towards the building.

"Another glorious day in this man's army!" Norad chirped.

–

The late morning sun felt mildly pleasant as the five regulators and the rat walked along the west bank of the Hudson river. Julia had learned that usually the men traveled in a single file line and quickly fell into her own place in the formation. Usually, Adam led the way followed immediately by Carl, the larger, imposing giant seemed to block out all the others behind him. Julia walked behind Carl followed by James and then Sven who had to carry the heaviest equipment.

Carl continued in stride behind Adam as they walked along the muddy riverbank, the sun's light casting a cascade of broken and shattered flashes over the Hudson's surface. The giant could not help but watch the water. A smile crossed his face though his eyes betrayed a small bit of wonder in them.

"Is it just me or does it seem like the water is clearing?" Carl asked.

"Looks normal to me." Adam replied. One had to recall that normal looking water had a completely different meaning two hundred years after the earth was baptized in an atomic apocalypse. Mud, lack of clarity, discoloration due to other impurities and the sting of radiation were the usual ailments to just about any drop of water you could find out there. Water purifiers came at a heavy premium.

"I don't know. It does not seem as dark and muddy as it usually is." Carl shrugged.

"Well, I won't argue with you Carl, you're the fisherman." Adam replied. In all reality, Adam wasn't sure what Carl was talking about but he didn't much care to discuss it.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. The rat shrieked in fright and immediately scrambled under the crevice underneath a rock while the regulators all promptly hit the dirt. Having done that, they all scattered to find more substantial cover. Bracing himself behind a boulder, Adam looked around.

"You see anything, James?" the former assassin demanded. James darted his scoped rifle around. He didn't like the situation, with the bright sun anyone could spot the flashing of the scope's glass.

"Not getting anything. The gunshot sounds too distant." James replied.

"I didn't see anything land." Sven reported in regards to any signs of a bullet landing near them.

"Then that means if there's a sniper watching us, he's a lousy shot." Carl added.

"Guys, listen. Doesn't that sound like more of them?" Julia asked. The men listened harder. Adam furrowed his brows in concentration. There indeed was more gunfire...and occasionally there was a lower noise that sounded like...a plasma rifle.

"Oh crap!" Adam screeched, suddenly leaving his cover and running as fast as he could back on their original direction.

"What's going on?" Sven asked.

"Guys, we're too close to the shack! Someone is attacking the shack! We got to help Francis!" Adam yelled. The realization hit all of them at once. The regulators readied their weapons and desperately tried to keep up. The rat meanwhile stayed in his hole.

The Regulator center of operations in the Hudson valley area was housed in a small stone building covered with sheet metal in place of a roof. Adam never asked, but he was certain Francis had thrown all those stones on top of each other himself sometime back in the day. The old man kept watch over it most of the time, having hit that age where arthritis was probably a more biting enemy he wanted to deal with rather than raiders.

River pirates ranked right up there with raiders.

Francis Garret glanced out the window that overlooked the river. The bloody pirates had simply beached their ship at full broadside right along his shack and were peppering the stone building with rifle fire. The older man took a few potshots with his plasma rifle, spitting green fire through the air before diving back behind cover. He suddenly heard a fusillade of additional firepower joining the fight. The moment he saw one of the pirates simply lose a head, he almost allowed a smile to come across his face. Instead, he simply took a drag from his cigarette.

"About time they got here." the old man grumbled. He suddenly heard the front door burst open followed by two strangers dashing into the room. The lead one carried a sledgehammer while the one behind carried a front heavy machete.

"You gonna die, grandpa!" the guy with the hammer roared before charging Francis. The old regulator, still crouched, waited till the last moment before sidestepping into his attacker. In doing so, he used the man's momentum to flip him over his back and onto the floor, stunning the pirate. The machete wielder chose that moment to pounce. Being a lot more agile than he looked, Francis caught the machete handle in his open left hand and then slammed the butt of his pistol grip into the man's face while pulling the blade out of his grasp. As soon as his attacker hit the ground, he viciously stomped on his wind pipe before slamming the machete onto the head of the second man who was just getting up. Taking another drag, Francis noticed that the gunfire had abruptly stopped. He decided to take a moment.

"Francis!" he heard someone yell. Good to know the guys actually might care for him more than just dispensing caps.

No sooner had Francis spat out the butt of the cigarette did Adam and his crew suddenly file into the building. Adam, his SMG still out, glanced over at the two dead bodies laying on the floor.

"Not bad, old man." Adam complimented.

"Pretty darn good if you ask me. What took you so long?" Francis grunted, loading another microfusion cell into his rifle.

"Well, we didn't expect you to be attacked." Adam replied.

"Admittedly, neither did I in this case. You get them all?" Francis inquired. The room was suddenly filled with the sound of James' rifle going off.

"Now we did." James replied, the body of a pirate falling off the ship and into the river.

"Nice shot." Sven nodded.

"And I see you're all here. Nice rifle by the way, miss." Francis stated, glancing at Julia's own plasma rifle.

"Thank you." Julia smiled. The old man looked over at James.

"Good to know you recognized a keeper. As smart as you are, you never were good figuring women out." Francis commented.

"Some might argue all men are." James grumbled.

"Well, after that brothel incident I figured you'd-"

"Could we not talk about that?" James interrupted.

"Very well. Carl, nice to see you got an upgrade over that bullet hose. Did you also get a new hammer?" Francis asked.

"Yes sir." Carl grinned.

"Very good. Sven, are you still psychotic?" Francis finished his interrogation.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Sven grinned a little too brightly.

"Getting worse, indeed. Anyway, enough chatter. I suppose you want to know why I had you dragged out of the city." Francis muttered, starting to gather his ammunition and some supplies in a bag.

"How many caps to be had?" Adam immediately asked.

"Always your first question. Truth be told, a lot, but there will also be a lot of dangers." Francis replied.

"Well, what do you want us to do?" Adam inquired.

"In case you had not noticed, the Hudson is coming to life. The water quality is getting better. It's still irradiated of course but not as bad as it used to be. Trading and settlements are springing up everywhere but with them, the river pirates are getting worse." Francis explained.

"You want us to go clear out the Hudson?" Carl asked, a brow raised. That certainly would be a daunting task.

"Yes and no. Get a ship or jump ferries. Go along the communities and scout out the areas. I expect a full report. Tell me how many communities there are and where the shipping routes are going. I'm going to need a better idea on where to send my regulators and how many to send." Francis explained, topping off his bag.

"Where are you going?" James asked.

"Oh yes, seeing how this shack is compromised, I'm going to be house sitting for you, or rather, Vault sitting. Keep an ear on your radio tuned to my frequency. I'll be sending orders through there. I'll also have the caravan office at the House start parceling out the bounties. I've done it once before."Francis replied, throwing his bag over a shoulder while his shifted his plasma rifle more comfortably in his hand.

"Won't you need an escort back?" Julia asked.

"I've been wandering these wastes all my life, miss. I think I can handle a short hike back. I'm going to need your password." Francis informed as Adam scribbled the information on a scrap paper.

"Hey...so you're going to give us a boat to do this? It'll get really expensive to jump ferries." Carl stated cautiously. Francis gave him a blank look.

"Do I look like I'm in the ship collecting business, boy?" Francis demanded sarcastically. However, the other regulators noticed a light come on in his head.

"Wait, I can give you something else, much better perhaps." Francis admitted, going back over to his desk to fish something out of the drawers. He returned with five individual pieces of cloth.

"Stitch these to your dusters. Word has gotten around about the Liberators. Who knows, maybe a specific marker might give you an easy pass." Francis muttered, handing each of them a simple embroidered silver cloth that was stylized into the shape of an "L." The older man then boldly made his exit.

"Oh wait, looks like I did give you a ship." Francis suddenly remarked just as he stepped out the door.

"Where?" Adam asked.

"Right there." Francis pointed towards the still beached ship that had belonged to the river pirates.

"But how are we going to run that thing?" Adam called. Francis didn't answer and simply continued down the river. The regulators all watched in silence as Francis' silhouette disappeared on the horizon.

"Sven..." Adam started.

"Yes?"

"Put out the fires that you started on our ship." Adam ordered, referring to the burning bodies of some of the pirates still on deck.

–

Mark and Cindy stepped up to the counter at The View, Norad hovering quietly behind them. It was during those still hours of the afternoon where things died down a bit before dinner time. Upon sitting down, they were greeted by May, the hostess of the view, a stout Asian woman with a thick accent and slightly imperfect English. Still, she was friendly in her own way and kept the place running with firm efficiency.

"What can I get you?" May asked.

"I'll have a Yao Guai steak." Mark answered.

"Bottle of Vodka and some molerat meat." Cindy stated.

"Be back shortly." May announced and scurried off to the kitchen. The regulators sat in silence while Norad continued to hold a vigil behind them.

"So when do we start asking?" Cindy asked.

"Right now, just stick with listening." Mark replied.

"Listening?"

"Yes. Overhearing." Mark clarified. The two jumped when a tire iron slammed on the counter. Mark and Cindy found themselves glancing up to a rather disgruntled looking wastelander, his left arm grotesquely bent at an odd angle.

"Y-you're...the raider that did this to me!" the man growled, his eyes going wild at Cindy. Cindy seemed to shrink a size.

"I...uh...don't know what you're talking about..." Cindy lied, her big light blue eyes shying away from the man. She had indeed recognized him.

"You're the one that broke my arm! And then you slammed a crowbar through it! I can no longer use this arm!" the man screamed.

"Sir, I'm going to ask you to back away and calm down." Mark ordered.

"She is not a regulator! She is a raider! This witch ruined the only arm I'm going to get in life!" the hysterical man ranted.

"There is no need for violence." Mark asserted. He saw Norad activate his flamethrower.

"Norad, stand down!" Mark ordered.

"She ruined me, now I'm going to ruin her, the stupid-" there was the ring of glass shattering and the crippled man fell flat out on the floor. A very shocked Cindy and Mark found themselves staring at May who held a broken wine bottle.

"He will pay very, very expensive broken property tax. And bad manners tax. No discount for you two, though. And could you please eat outside?" May asked, handing them their food.

Mark, Cindy and the robot quietly made their way towards the exit. Mark was at least glad that May had not blamed them for the incident. Trying to keep a low profile, Mark brushed by a patron that was still sitting in a chair. He tried to keep it casual when the man gently took his arm.

"If you're looking for work, Regulator, there's been some strange things going on near the Iron Lady down in the bay. It's south-east of here."

"Why are you telling me this?" Mark asked.

"Don't get me wrong. You regulators, you're the good guys. But strange things tend to happen when you men in the green coats hang around too long. If anything, the Supervisor starts to get more ornery." the man admitted. Mark simply nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind."

–

Dusk had fallen and the Liberators were still moored on the beach. Julia had finally finished stitching the "L" insignia on their sleeves but the men had hit a major problem with the ship. Simply put, the boat, a simple transport vessel with two decks underneath its main one, was firmly stuck into the mud. Carl was the only one with any amount of maritime experience.

"So what are we going to do with this giant paperweight?" James demanded sarcastically.

"Don't call her that, she'll be a beauty...once we get her off this mud." Carl scolded. Adam, who had been deep in thought for awhile, finally spoke up.

"I have an idea." Adam announced. Everyone, including the rat, looked at him.

"What we'll do is sell her off to the nearest passing caravan. We'll give them a mildly discounted price in exchange that they'll ferry us on our mission. When we're done, they can keep it as we won't need it anymore." Adam offered. The others seemed to nod their approval.

"That sounds good." Julia agreed.

"Now all we need to do is wait for a passing caravan...with the right sailing experience." James murmured. They all stood around for a moment, the silence only broken by the sound of the water flowing pass them in the darkening air.

"Well...a caravan has to pass by...eventually..." James muttered.

"Should I light a signal fire?" Sven asked.

"No." Adam replied quickly.

"You know...I'm going to pray for this one." Carl announced before another round of silence settled.

"You got a word from God yet, preacher?" Adam asked in mild sarcasm.

"Right now, I'm going with 'Wait.'" Carl replied.


	5. Chapter 5

_You can have all the armies in the world, but if you can't pay them you have a bigger problem than if you didn't have an army at all."_

_

* * *

  
_

Mark had heard from the Liberators that the super mutant presence in the city had been massively reduced since they first arrived in the city. After a massive assault launched by a super mutant army was largely beat back by a joint effort by the Liberators and the Brotherhood, as well as some crossfire between Talon Company and Enclave, the super mutants simply never recovered.

However, that did not mean that there were still a few stubbornly holding out in the city.

Mark fired from the hip with his assault rifle as he scrambled behind an abandoned dumpster. In front of him was the tell tale architecture of a super mutant fortress, the jagged and skeletal steel beams painted with human blood. A super mutant was still firing a hunting rifle in his direction. Listening to the sound of a casing eject and hit the ground, Mark leaped up and fired a burst from his rifle. The rounds effectively slammed into the mutant's face and neck, dropping the monster before Mark was forced to crouch behind cover again.

Norad made his appearance, once again giving Mark support with his plasma rifle. Mark was not sure what exactly the Mr. Gutsy manufacturers were trying to accomplish but those robots certainly had not a single shred of the idea of stealth programmed into their systems. Norad was shouting threats to beat the band. Or an enraged drill sergeant.

"Die, you pinko commies!" was probably the only threat the robot spouted that wasn't laced with an explicative or more. Mark glanced up to watch the robot badly wound several of the mutants with its superheated plasma. He also wasn't pleased with the sound of bullets bouncing off the machine's armor. Following the muzzle flashes, Mark was able to determine it was coming from a Brute with a minigun. Mark immediately dived behind cover again.

"Norad, don't you know well enough when to get behind cover!?" the regulator shouted.

"Cover is for carbon based organic lifeforms!" Norad retorted.

Back at the center of the fortress, the Brute was sending the bulk of his 5mm rounds into the strange machine that was doing a good job cutting down its comrades. Determined to end their tormentor, the mutant was suddenly surprised to feel something cut into its arm. It wasn't very painful but it was certainly the strangest round it had ever seen. A sharp edge had barbed a strange red stick that was stuck into his flesh. Belatedly, he noticed the lit fuse that rapidly made its way into the stick.

Cindy was rather pleased in making the last kill. The only mutants she liked to see where the ones that were in several pieces all over a wide radius.

–

Francis casually strode through the cave entrance. Personally, a part of him envied the guys for finding an abandoned Vault to live in that still functioned no less. Most people lived and died out there in the wastes without even dreaming of the luxuries a Vault would have supplied. Regardless, the old man was glad he might be able to live with those luxuries for awhile. He tapped in the proper code on the terminal and watched in awe as the giant metal door swung open and stopped with a heavy boom. It was rare, his mouth almost hurt as he felt a very uncommon smile go across his face.

"I might have to make this my base of operations." Francis muttered as he stepped inside.

–

The rat lapped some water from the river, taking a long drink. Taking its fill, it started to groom the fur on its face by running it with its paws. It had observed the humans exhibiting a similar behavior though it was a mystery to the rat as to why so. Humans did not seem to have whiskers like he did and it was very important that his whiskers were in right order. Setting his fur the way he liked it, the rodent crawled back up the bank of the river where the regulators were all loitering, still trying to figure out what to do with their beached ship.

It was really rare for the regulators to not have anything to do but wait. Even when they were waiting to make an ambush they tended to do more hunting and scanning than actual waiting. Carl was always on the ship, trying to get to know it better while Sven was fooling around in the engine room. Everyone kept trying to disregard the mild possibility of him blowing it up.

James found a small notch among the boulders to keep watch through his scope though he silently prayed that no one would notice the flash of his spyglass. Adam simply sat there, watching where James could not see as they set up a human radar system of sorts. Lacking anything else to do, Julia sat there listening to the radio, surfing through the various channels to see if there were any interesting signals to pick up on. She suddenly stopped and immediately started listening intently through her head piece. Adam was a bit surprised when she started copying information on a scrap piece of paper.

"What do you have there?" Adam asked.

"Francis; he said his channel was on 218, correct?" Julia asked.

"Yes." Adam replied carefully.

"He's sending out a signal out in Morse code, and here I thought I'd never use that outside the Brotherhood." Julia laughed.

"What's he saying?" James inquired curiously.

"'This is Francis, stop. Relocated from HQ, stop. Send fingers to House caravan office, stop. Pick up bounties there, stop. Regulators, search for map of Hudson, send to Liberators, stop.'" Julia recited.

"You have an idea where we could find a map of the river, James?" Adam inquired.

"Albany. That used to be the capital of the area before the war. They should have an archives up there that may have some stored information, even in stuff as simple as parchment paper." James stated.

"Well, we're not going anywhere if we can't get that ship off the mud." Adam murmured.

"We got people coming." James announced. They looked over towards the south where they saw three figures plus the large shadow of a Brahim.

"Awesome, our first merchant group." Adam announced.

"You think they'll take it?" Carl called from the deck.

"They better or we're leaving this scrapheap." Adam retorted. Carl frowned unhappily at the remark.

The three people of the caravan were rather surprised to be set upon by five regulators, all of whom seemed rather eager to do business. However, the surprises ended there for the merchants. In fact, from that point on it was the regulators who would be getting surprised.

Adam was a bit shocked to find that the merchant leader was a woman wearing all leather, from her jacket to her boots. He was impressed to see that she was even wearing the breastplate of a leather armor getup under her jacket. He was also rather intrigued with her long black hair that draped halfway down her back.

"You must be Adam." the woman stated flatly though a small smirk hung on her face.

"Yes, and these are my regulators. I'm surprised you know my name." Adam replied, trying to keep it cool.

"We ran into your boss on the way up. He said you may need some help." the woman informed.

"Well, it would be rather rude of us to enlist your help without knowing your names." Adam replied.

"My name is Alexandra. This is my sister, Saffron and our hired guard, Jared." Alexandra introduced. Saffron bore some similarities to her sister though she was a little smaller and instead had red hair that was tied back in a bun. Both of the sisters had dull green eyes but Saffron wore the full leather armor as well as Jared. Not much could be said about Jared, a stocky man with a short cut of hair and black eyes.

"Well, we do need to get this ship off the beach and we're going to need an experienced river crew who can help us run the ship and get us to places. Do you three know anything about that stuff?" Adam asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes." Alexandra nodded. The regulators were delighted.

"Awesome, well, we'll sell this ship to you for a small fee, you help us for the duration of our mission and you can do your business at the stops. We will grant you protection from pirates and you just might have to expect a few layovers in case our missions require the time." Adam informed.

"And that's why you're going to give us the ship. For free." Alexandra stated. Adam noticeably became uncomfortable.

"Whoa now, last I checked ships like these ran for a good price." Adam complained.

"Yes and I'm not stupid. You're the Liberators." Alexandra stated, her arms folded across her chest as she motioned towards the "L" insignia stitched on their sleeves with her chin.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Julia demanded.

"Everything. Sure, it's all glamorous you saved New York City but people overlook just how much trouble you guys caused. I also know you're rich." Alexandra informed.

"How do you know that?" Carl asked in bewilderment.

"Oh come on, everyone was saying how there was such a big price on your heads from the slavers and then how you effectively cut the head off of the Talons, the bounty money disappearing with you guys." the merchant retorted.

"So what are you saying?" James demanded.

"Your mission is a danger to me and my crew but we need your protection and you need to get off this beach. Regulator work is dangerous but it makes its caps. You give this sucker to us for free and we'll cart you around so long as you keep us safe. Who knows, if you live past this, you'll always have a place on my ship." Alexandra said, softening her features. Adam was mildly shocked at being out-negotiated.

"She got us." James shrugged.

"James, shut up." Adam hissed.

"Do we have a better deal?" Carl asked rhetorically.

"Give me your grenades?" Sven asked weirdly. Alexandra shook her head in amusement.

"Fine, we'll take the ship for free and all your policies _and_ give your friend here all the grenades we have on stock, which is five."

"Deal." Adam murmured unenthusiastically. Carl did a little hop of glee as he rubbed his hands together while Saffron handed Sven the grenades.

"Now lets get this ship off this beach." Carl announced.

"One last thing, your boss said you should call it the 'Half Moon.'" Alexandra finished.

"Did he say why?" Carl asked.

"Said it was the name of an important ship that went up the Hudson once. Don't know anything about it myself." Saffron shrugged.

"That's a stupid name." Jared muttered. Adam glanced at him before making a decision.

"Half Moon it is." Adam announced.

–

Cindy, Mark and Norad made it down at the bay by midday. The water was surprisingly pleasant as they listened to the waves crashing on the sand of the ancient harbor. They did not linger by the residual mist too long as that would only expose them to more radiation. However, even they could notice that the waters that flowed through there seemed to have a little less of that metallic tang that was an indicator of the rads. Mark squinted hard and saw the Iron Lady, the former Statue of Liberty that still stood tall and relatively unblemished even after all these years.

"You see anything?" Cindy asked.

"Not really. I really should have clarified on what exactly those 'strange things' that the guy mentioned." Mark stated.

"Lets spend the night here, we can find an abandoned building and set up a post." Cindy suggested as Norad hovered quietly in the background.

"You really want to spend a night out here in the streets?" Mark asked incredulously.

"Sure, what's wrong with spending the night out here?" Cindy asked with a shrug.

"The ghouls tend to become more active and some we've noticed that the mutants tend to choose the night time to make their patrols, at least for a short while. We could, its just we kind of noticed you really want to find the safety of the House or the Wall at night." Mark explained.

"Feeling lucky tonight then?" Cindy asked. Mark snickered at the double meaning but nodded.

"Oh shut up, you know what I mean." Cindy scowled.

"Sure, so long as you got my back." Mark agreed.

"Trust me lawman, I used to be a raider remember? We had it harder than you might think."

–

It took awhile to persuade the caravan Brahmin up the ramp and into the ship; they were going to need the creature's milk. Some time was also devoted to scraping off the pirate graffiti though everyone was thankful that there were no bodies or mutilated appendages that they had to clear off as pirates had a tendency to do that with their ships. After throwing on the new name plate on the ship, the _Half Moon_ was ready to set sail. Working in tandem, they were finally able to free the ship off the mud it was on its way.

"So what's your plan, regulator?" Alexandra asked Adam on the bridge. James was keeping watch on the catwalk above the bridge while Jared simply walked a patrol around the boat. Julia and Sven were busy down in the hold trying to get the ancient fission reactor to work safely. Julia had found it amazing that the pirates hadn't blown themselves up running it the way they did. Carl and Saffron meanwhile made sure everything was in place, Carl working in the kitchens and Saffron placing the merchandise in the holds.

"We'll have to head up to old Albany and search through the ruins there." Adam simply stated. Alexandra shot him an unhappy look.

"You do know Albany was reduced to rubble years ago. We don't even stop there on the merchant route, we try to get through there in one day. The battle may be over but in some ways its still a warzone." Alexandra explained.

"I did not say you had to come with us, I'm just saying you're going to have to park up at Albany and wait." Adam asserted.

"We'll have to discuss that in detail later. Our first stop will be at the settlement of Hollow. We can sell off our merchandise and restock there. Then we can talk about how we're going to handle Albany." Alexandra stated.

"Very well." Adam agreed. Suddenly, they felt the floor under them shudder to life before evening out into a lesser but steady vibration. Julia appeared shortly thereafter.

"We got the engine back to life. It should run smoothly." Julia announced.

"Wonderful. Let's turn this ship north and head upstream." Alexandra said, taking the helm and swinging it hard. Very soon, the _Half Moon_ was headed north to the town of Hollow.

–

Night had fallen and Norad, Mark and Cindy had holed themselves up in a blasted building. It was still the early hours and both were not tired yet. With Norad keeping a constant electronic vigil, it allowed the two humans to rest at their leisure. Cindy sat on the floor, back against the wall as she enjoyed one last cigarette.

The new regulator could not help but let out a smoke filled sigh, still unable to get her mind off the man back at The View. She had vaguely remembered running into him, but truth be told she could not count how many she had tormented and killed out in the wastes, running with the raider gang. A small part of her always became bothered when they did it but wasn't that life out in the wastes? It was either kill or be killed, right?

Come to think of it, wasn't she still doing that now, except now wearing different clothes?

"Mark." Cindy said.

"Yes?" Mark responded, still watching the Statue of Liberty.

"Do you really think I've turned? You know, from being a raider?" Cindy asked.

"Maybe. Do you?" Mark inquired.

"I'm just glad to be alive, but I'm not sure I'm doing anything different than from when I was a raider. I'm just killing different people now." Cindy stated. Mark looked over at her and his gaze bore straight into her.

"Well you better figure out what the difference is between this and being a raider or I may have to strip you of your duster." Mark stated firmly.

"I know, I know, we're restoring order to the wastes and bringing law back to the chaos." Cindy mumbled. Mark softened a bit.

"You'll get it eventually, just give it time." Mark murmured before going back to watching. Cindy stared up through the broken roof and suddenly noticed the stars in the sky. Sure, she always knew they were up there but when was the last time she truly sat back and enjoyed them? There was always some squabbling or other debauchery done at night with the raiders. Now, she could truly enjoy watching the stars whenever she could.

"We got something." Mark announced. Cindy crouched and shuffled over to him, keeping in cover.

"What's that?" Cindy asked. Mark pointed out into the bay.

"There's lights on the water. It might be a ship. It's...it's headed straight for the Statue of Liberty." Mark observed.


	6. Chapter 6

"_The fear of death is more to be dreaded than death itself."_

_-Publilius Syrus_

"_It is far safer to be feared than loved."_

_-Machiavelli_

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_

The quiet, endless woods of New York and its rolling mountains spawned one legend just after the states broke from Great Britain in the American Revolution. According to the legend, a Hessian trooper, the mercenary soldiers hired by the Crown, lost his head during one of the many battles in the area. His head shot off by a cannon ball, the decapitated phantom of the soldier rode through the night, forever searching for his head. During one of the shade's twilight forays, he scared off a village's new school master and the man was never seen again. Of course, there was always talk that a jealous rival had used the legend as a cover to spook the man.

Regardless of the true events, the story, and the ghost of the headless horseman, became known as the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Sleepy Hollow was an actual town in New York right on the Hudson before the bombs fell. The atomic baptism had a way of addling the collective memory of mankind. The important fact of the matter was that the town's inhabitant almost remembered the name of their old dwelling place. They just accidentally dropped off the first half of the original name.

The rat groomed the fur on its head and whiskers as it usually did multiple times during the day. He noticed that most of the humans he hung out with also had regular patterns of grooming and hygiene though they usually insisted on using water to do so. They did not do too well of a job if they were trying to get rid of the smell that enveloped them. Then again, the rat noticed humans did not seem to have too good of a sense of smell. They simply knocked off one scent that was stronger to them than the others.

Come to think of it, he was catching a strong whiff of the collected scents of more humans up river.

James, Carl, Sven and Jared all sat on the deck in front of the bridge cabin right on the forecastle, protected by the bow's gunwales. None of them expected pirates at this time of the day, especially this close to a sizable town with an established defense force.

"Sven, how much have you heard about Albany recently?" James asked. The man was wearing his blast helmet for some reason but they had all learned not to question Sven's lack of coherent logic.

"Blasted to the ground. My family had all passed away before the big war there a few years ago. That would be one explosion no one should see, least what happened there. From what I heard, it wasn't a good explosion. Just a series of...bad things. Not even a nuke could have done the damage that happened at Albany." Sven muttered darkly.

"You really think we should go rooting through there then?" Carl asked James.

"No, I really don't think we should, but I also believe we don't have a choice if we want to get a map of the Hudson." James replied. The four men sat in silence again. Carl looked over at Jared who also wore a leather armor getup and always had his assault rifle on hand.

"You're not much of a talker, are you?" Carl asked. Jared glanced at him, stood up and simply left without a word. James and Carl stared at him in disbelief.

"A mite bit peculiar too." Carl muttered.

"That was rather discourteous. I wonder what his problem is." James said.

"What's really discourteous is his insistence on not even carrying a grenade. What kind of clown does that?" Sven asked in disbelief.

--

Julia and Saffron were both hanging in the kitchens, Saffron was finishing up the inventory while Julia continued to listen intently for any further radio transmissions from Francis. Regardless, the automated transmission from the regulator grandmaster had not changed.

"Tell me a little bit about yourself, Saffron." Julia stated, taking the headphones off her ears. The redhead glanced over at her.

"Oh, nothing spectacular. Mom died when we were little so dad raised us himself. He taught us how to run the caravans but he got sick with something when Alex and I were teenagers. He never got better and he died shortly after that. Alex and I took over, been doing that ever since." Saffron explained.

"I'm sorry about your parents." Julia apologized. Saffron just shrugged.

"Oh, it's been such a long time. Besides, if we weren't running the merchant caravans we were toddling along beside them our whole lives. It's almost like we were born working the caravans." Saffron smiled.

"At least you enjoy it." Julia said.

"Oh no, I don't enjoy it, at least not the trading part." Saffron corrected.

"But you seem so happy going along with your sister." Julia stated, a little confused.

"I just enjoy the cooking and the sorting." the merchant explained before going behind the counter to sort the utensils.

--

Alexandra kept a steady watch over the helm on the bridge. She was feeling rather satisfied with herself. She and Saffron had talked about buying a Hudson ferry for some time but they just could never get the right amount of caps. The newly christened _Half Moon_ was practically a godsend.

The only mildly irksome thing about it was that she was currently sharing it with the regulators. No, Liberators. If the stories were true, these guys were a greater hazard than the standard regulators. She looked over at the cabin door to see Adam step in.

"I see lights upriver. Is that Hollow?" Adam asked.

"Yes it is." Alexandra nodded.

"How long do you suppose it will take you to do your business there?" Adam inquired.

"Anywhere between a few hours to a day, depending on how quick business goes and how fast I can restock on a good deal to send up river. Why are you so dead set on going to a ghost town anyway?" Alexandra demanded.

"You mean Albany? The war has been over for several years. What dangers are there in the city now?" Adam asked skeptically.

"No one cares to know. When my caravan runs through there we do not care to stop, we just keep going. We only keep to the riverside and still you can see so many bones from the fighting. I hear only super mutants have any sort of claim on the city and the desperate and vagabonds fight or hide from them in the ruins. Still, not even the muties venture too deep into the city. It's just a bad place. Some say the spirits of the soldiers still fight there...and occasionally enact their anger on any passing wretches that come by. Not that I believe those stories, of course." Alexandra explained, though she paused a little too long when adding that last sentence.

"Well good. I don't believe those stories either. Besides, after what me and my team saw in New York City, angry spirits would be a cakewalk." Adam snickered. Alexandra simply rolled her eyes.

"It takes a lot of stupidity to take down the Wall. Seriously, how many more men were on your team? How many did you lose?" Alexandra prodded. Adam glanced at her.

"None in fact. Besides, we couldn't leave those slaves in there. Finally, I wasn't talking about the incident at the Wall." Adam defended.

"Oh right. I don't believe that story either, you guys destroying a giant slug from the sewers." Alexandra said.

"It wasn't a slug but believe what you want to believe." Adam muttered.

"If you guys seriously did pull all that stuff off, we'd have to believe God sent an army of angels to watch over you or something." Alexandra stated, turning the ship closer towards the docks. Adam chuckled.

"Haha, I'll let James or Carl answer that one."

The _Half Moon_ pulled alongside one of the piers and was moored in place with the help of some of the towns people. While they readied a gang plank, the whole crew held a hurried meeting on the deck.

"All right, I assume you Liberators have some lawmen stuff to do in town. I don't mind that but I want at least one of you on ship at all times as part of our security arrangement." Alexandra told them.

"You don't believe it will be safe here?" Adam asked.

"Slightly, I'm really just holding you to your deal on security matters." Alexandra retorted.

"Don't you think you're being a little presumptuous making those demands?" Adam replied. Everyone else around them noticeable became uncomfortable.

"Now if I remember correctly, you sold us this ship, making it mine and therefore making me in charge. You may be chief of security, Adam, but you're still under me while you're on my ship." Alexandra asserted firmly. Adam glared at her.

"Hey boss, it's cool. I want to stay on ship anyway." Carl announced.

"No Carl, if you want to get off ship you don't need to kiss up to-"

"Seriously, Adam. It's been awhile since I was on a boat, I miss it. I'll start making dinner anyway and I'll give you guys a list of supplies we'll need for the kitchens. That way everyone is happy." Carl interrupted. Adam begrudgingly relaxed.

"Very well." Adam sighed.

"In return, we'll make sure not to leave anyone off shore when we eventually lift anchor. Deal?" Alexandra smirked. Adam nodded.

"All right, Saffron, Jared! We got a cargo hold to sell off, let's move!" Alexandra yelled, getting her half of the crew into action. Adam waited till she was out of earshot before turning to his Liberators.

"Well, she's certainly a complete pain in the butt." Adam grumbled.

"I'm not sure I like her either." Julia murmured.

"Just give her a chance. I'm sure we'll all learn to get along eventually." James suggested.

"Ah, river boat captains tend to develop an ego. Some of them eventually taper off though once the luster passes." Carl added with a knowing nod.

"So can I go off and buy some happiness? And by happiness I mean things that go boom?" Sven demanded.

"Before you do, go buy this stuff." Carl stated, handing him a shopping list and about four hundred caps.

"Oooh." Sven grumbled, looking at the list.

"That should be more than enough caps. I want my change back." Carl warned.

Adam had already left the ship, followed by James and Julia, who was being led by the arm James offered her.

Hollow was a sizable town that sat on the Hudson. The longevity and prosperity of the town could be seen by the size of the buildings and their relative quality. Yes, like nearly every other dwelling in in the wastes, these buildings were put together with rubble and sheet metal. However, one glance at them made it clear that they were put together with more care and of higher degree of craftsmanship than most other abodes. Even the length of the town was a testament to its success.

Alexandra was more concerned with the size of its marketplace. Fortunately, it sat right next to the docks.

The merchant leader strolled up to one of the vendors, a swarthy man with two ammo belts wrapping around his torso. Alexandra waited for Saffron and Jared to come in behind her, they were carrying several crates of the goods they had. Alexandra smiled as she faced the vendor. This would be the last small cargo shipment they would ever have.

"Want to run up some supplies? How much do you have?" the vendor asked.

"How much do _you_ have?" Alexandra winged back.

--

James did his best to keep a straight face though he wanted badly to chew the insides of his cheeks. That phantom limb, the pain where his left arm would be, was acting up again. It felt like, the irony, a heavy metal cylinder was lodged where his real bicep would have been. His only solace was that where Julia's hand was holding his steel prosthetic felt like it was under a cooling ice. She was unwittingly playing with his mind and he was certain that eventually her touch would dissipate the pain but like a waxing and waning spasm of torture, he had to get over the crescendo before it would get better.

"Is there a place you would like to go?" James asked.

"Lets just walk through town first." Julia said quietly, walking even closer to him.

Eventually, after doing some sight seeing and surveying the houses, they managed to get to the end of the village which emptied out into the open wastes. Looking out into the east, they watched the shadows cast by the sun behind them as they stretched into the horizon.

"Have you ever considered retiring from regulating soon?" Julia asked James. The man glanced at her.

"Maybe not soon, but retiring...well, I can't really see myself ever just sitting around all day." James muttered.

"You don't need to sit around all day, you could research or build other stuff besides guns and ammo." Julia stated.

"I suppose but I'd have to figure out a way to keep the caps coming in." James said.

"James, the ten thousand caps you took from the Talons a year ago is more caps in one bag than I have ever seen in my whole life." Julia pointed out.

"I donated about half of that to the Church at the House for their ministries to the poor and needy."

"You still have more caps in savings than I have ever seen." Julia smirked.

"Honey, you're right, but every time I get close to convincing myself to retire, I am immediately reminded as to why I'm still a regulator." James said.

"And why is that?" Julia asked, folding her arms in front of her.

"That." James pointed.

A group of three thugs were clearly harassing a woman wearing a long dress of brahmin hides. Her head was covered in a scarf, an item that the thugs were intent on obtaining for some reason. However, the woman was also accompanied by a ghoul who was doing his best to keep the intruders off her.

"Hey there lady, what do you want to hide your head for? Anything else you're hiding?" the center one, presumably the leader, sniggered.

"Please, stop! It would not be proper for me to uncover my head." the woman cried.

"Keep off of her, you idiots!" the ghoul growled, doing his best to shove off the other two who had grabbed the woman. She seemed very much intent on not letting them remove the veil. Both she and the ghoul suspected it wasn't the only thing they wanted removed.

"Do yourself a favor rot face, and make yourself scarce." the leader growled.

"I warn you, stop." the ghoul scowled.

"Or what, zombie? You planning on going feral?"

Before they knew it, the ghoul had pulled out the strangest looking sword they had ever seen. No one looking on could have known it, but it was in the ancient design of a scimitar.

"Just...stay away." the ghoul warned. He held the sword feebly, certainly not lacking in determination but he definitely seemed to be wanting confidence.

"Haha, the ghoul really thinks he can stop us with that?" one of the thugs laughed.

"Well, if you want to play rough, ghoul, we can do that." the leader snickered.

"Picking on women and ghouls are we? Is that all the courage you can truly muster?" a stranger's voice chimed in. The thugs turned around and found themselves staring at James. Julia was nowhere to be found and unknown to the ruffians, she had taken both his rail rifle, satchel and laser rifle and was instructed to keep out of sight.

"This doesn't concern you, regulator." the leader growled.

"Really? Then I would suggest whatever this is wouldn't concern the ghoul and the woman either." James shot.

"There's three of us here and just him, we can take him out and no one would notice." one of the thugs muttered.

"I'm not hard of hearing." James retorted.

"Last warning regulator." the boss scowled, him and the two other thugs drawing wicked looking combat knives and surrounding James.

"Please gentlemen..." James started and then drew his foot long blade.

"This is _your_ last warning." the regulator sent back.

Too bad the boss didn't listen.

The hellion charged, taking advantage that James was holding the blade along his side weakly instead of having it drawn. The man pulled in close, his arm flexed back to thrust forward into the lawman. Without warning, James' left arm shot forward and his fist slammed into his attacker's face, the sound of bone and flesh crunching sounded under the blow.

The gang leader fell flat on his back out cold, his face the perfect mess of red and ripped flesh. Everyone simply stood around in utter shock as James checked the man's pulse.

"He'll live though I'd suggest you guys get him to a doctor to check his nose otherwise his face is going to be funny permanently." James stated, glaring at the men until they took their fallen leader away. Julia appeared from hiding and returned James' equipment back to him.

"Thanks, dear." James said, taking back his weapons. The couple could not help but overhear the other two talking. The just rescued fugitives talked in quick, furious whispers.

"No, sister that is unnecessary. Let us just be on our way." the ghoul stated, trying to walk off. The woman grabbed his arm and stood firm.

"Brother, we must at least thank them. Maybe they can help us." the woman scolded. Finally, the ghoul stepped forward and addressed James.

"Ahem, my sister wishes to thank you. She doubts you are of the faith but she wonders if you two are people of the book." the ghoul stated. Julia just looked at James a bit confused but her husband tilted his head back, as if he had heard that term before.

"You two...judging by her headscarf or veil...you two..." James started snapping his fingers, trying to recall. By now all three of them were staring at him speechless.

"You believe in Allah and the prophet Mohammad." James finally recalled. The woman bowed as if agreeing but the ghoul noticeably rolled his eyes.

"Well, one of us is the real believer." the ghoul grumbled.

"Ibrahim!" the woman scolded.

"Look, this is my sister, Sufia. She believes that you might know of a place we're looking for." the ghoul, Ibrahim, announced.

"Well, if we don't know where it is, we're searching for maps of the Hudson and New York so if you stick with us, I'm sure we'll eventually find it." Julia offered.

–

Mark, Cindy and Norad made their way from their post and moved further north along the docks and harbor side. Cindy was doing her best to try and log the sites she saw for memory in the event she ever had to pass through here. At the same time, she was also keeping an eye out for any possible dangers. They could not trust Norad to do all the scanning for them. She idly reached into her cut and ran her thumb along the edge of the hatchet she kept in her belt. It still felt keen, just a little pressure would readily batter through any material she would need it to destroy.

"Where are we going?" Cindy asked finally.

"We got to find the Brotherhood of Steel." Mark explained.

"Why is that?" Cindy inquired.

"I want to check out that island that the Iron Lady is one but it's out in the middle of the harbor. I think only the Brotherhood would have any sort of vessel to go out there in the bay." Mark informed.

"What makes you so sure?" Cindy asked.

"It's going to take something fancy to get out there with those waves going all the time and I think only the Brotherhood will have something to get us there." Mark answered.

–

Alexandra waited on the deck of the _Half Moon _ for the regulators to return. She may not have been completely thrilled with the idea of working with the legendary Liberators and she had no problem showing it. On the flip side, she also knew she couldn't be a complete jerk all the time.

"Hey, who are those two?" Alexandra asked as James and Julia led the two new passengers on board.

"This is Ibrahim and his sister, Sufia. They'll be coming with us for the duration of the journey." James informed.

"You're going to let them on for free?" Alexandra demanded, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh right, sorry. Here's their donation." James informed, dropping a handful of caps into Alexandra's posession. The merchant cast him a suspicious glance. She knew he was actually paying for them with his own caps. Alas, if that was what he wanted to do...

"Very well. Make yourselves at home." Alexandra told the newcomers. Ibrahim just grunted while Sufia bowed her head thankfully. James meanwhile made his way towards the mess hall. When they were out of sight, Julia placed a hand on his shoulder from behind him.

"You're a softie, you know that?" Julia snickered. James simply smiled knowingly.

"That's probably why I'll never retire." James replied.

"I'm glad I found you." Julia whispered before pulling him close to kiss him.

Adam was the last to return to the ship and found Alexandra on the bridge. He glanced back at the village of Hollow before addressing the ship's captain.

"Did you get all your cargo on board?" Adam asked. Alexandra nodded.

"All right, everyone is on board, we're setting sail for Albany." Adam ordered. Alexandra glared at him.

"What, now?" Alexandra cried incredulously.

"Yes. Now." Adam replied.


	7. Chapter 7

_Some have said that war is hell_

_It was the Great War that brought hell on earth_

_So why then does man still insist _

_On reopening those burning gates?_

_

* * *

  
_

It took several days of tracking and moving north but Daniel was able to track another community. To his dismay, he found this small village also completely eradicated by the same speckled plague that destroyed the last village he found. He was just about to write it off when he suddenly noticed movement. Glad that he was crouched as the stealth fields had already been on, he nonetheless silently shouldered his Infiltrator rifle and sighted these intruders. There were two of them and they wore a similar getup to the protective hazmat clothing that his own Enclave scientist wore. These appeared to be even more airtight, however. A final variation they had from the Enclave model was that they were a more steel gray. Odd.

Before he could do anything, he suddenly heard a strange sound and noticed a lot of dust being kicked up from the ground. Daniel glanced up into the sky to see a rather strange looking aircraft. It appeared to operate similar to the Vertibirds he was used to but this one had one single, large rotor above it. His military training told him that this was an older model of aircraft, a helicopter. He did not know of any organization still running those. He immediately frowned.

The strange aircraft landed in the clearing despite the bodies and opened a side door where the apparent scientists made their entrance. As quickly as it arrived, the helicopter locked its doors up and took off from the ground. As it flew away, Daniel was only able to make one note that stood out to him, a strange label that was posted on the side of the aircraft.

It read: **LAB 18**. Daniel hesitated before turning on his radio.

"Command, this is Delta Sierra. I have to report an unknown aircraft..." Daniel spoke into his transmitter.

–

Mark, Cindy and Norad finally made it to the proper dock. Following the instructions the Liberators had given them, they found the old pier where the _Defiance _sat at. Now laying on its side in the water, the _Defiance _was a rather sad sight to behold and completely powerless to fend off any kind of attack. Of course, one had to wonder why anyone would want a partially submerged and incapacitated wreck.

"Follow me." Mark instructed Cindy and the Mr. Gutsy and led them towards one of the side buildings. He was greeted by two Brotherhood Knights flanking the entrance of the building.

"Uh...sirs..." Mark hesitated.

"Knight Rufus and Knight Fernando." Knight Rufus greeted.

"My friends told me to keep an eye out for a Knight Rufus and an Initiate." Mark informed.

"Yeah, I finally got promoted." Knight Fernando admitted.

"Your friends, are they the Liberators?" Rufus asked.

"Yes." Mark admitted. Rufus bowed a bit.

"A friend of the Liberators will get a pass here. Besides, you're wearing the right uniform. Just state your business." Rufus instructed.

"I have a request. Is there a person in charge I can speak to?" Mark asked.

"Straight ahead, ask for a Scribe Lex. People inside will guide you along the way." Rufus said.

"Thanks." Mark thanked and stepped inside.

"Ma'am." Knight Fernando greeted as Cindy walked by. She ignored him.

"Mr. Gutsy." Fernando also stated to Norad as the robot passed by.

"That is Sergeant Norad to you, maggot." the Gutsy barked as it floated by. Fernando turned his helmet to stare at the passing machine before looking back at Rufus.

"Geez, I get promoted and I still feel like an Initiate." Fernando grumbled.

After just asking directions once from a passing scribe, Mark and his group were able to find the organized if spacy office devoted to Scribe Lex.

The master Scribe and Brotherhood leader was an older man with a full, if completely white, set of hair. Despite the wrinkles that etched his neck and face, he kept a friendly countenance even if it did appear he was usually copying information down on a parchment from holotape. The scribe looked up at them as they entered.

"Ah, regulators. Are you friends of Julia's group?" Lex asked.

"Yes, we're taking over for them for a bit. They got called out on a mission taking them on the Hudson." Mark explained.

"Oh, very good. How are you doing?" Lex inquired.

"Good." Mark nodded.

"Lock and loaded." Norad announced.

"Toasty roasty." Cindy smiled. Lex frowned at her response, his features showing that he did not understand which was completely lost on Cindy. Mark secretly signaled to the Scribe not to worry about it.

"I assume you are here for some sort of assistance?" Lex started, getting to business.

"Yes. There's an island we would like to get on and we're in need of a ship. Do you have any?" Mark asked. Lex shook his head solemnly.

"I'm sorry. The _Defiance _was the only vessel we had and now we only use it to, well, try and salvage whatever information we had on it before it capsized." Lex apologized.

"Do you know where we could find ships in the area that might be able to handle the roughness of the bay?" Mark inquired. Lex furrowed his brow in thought.

"Not really, you could search along the docks that run all along the city. I'm sure there must be something that the scavengers and shipwrights may have missed." Lex suggested.

"All right, thanks." Mark stated, a bit of disappointment in his voice.

"Which island are you trying to get to, by the way?" Lex asked.

"It's the one where the Iron Lady is on." Mark shrugged. He was immediately shocked by how Lex reacted. The old man's eyes immediately popped open before his hand landed on Mark's and gripped it with such a force that did not seem to be common among men Lex's age.

"Don't." Lex warned.

–

It was the early hours of the morning just before the sun touched the eastern skies. It would certainly have a ways to go before it could peek right above the mountains. In the mess hall, Sufia, Ibrahim, Jared and the Rat watched as Saffron, Alexandra and the regulators did their best to have a civil argument.

"I do not understand why you guys are so dead set on trying to go through a bad place, even the brahmin become fidgety in there, just for a stupid map." Alexandra shot.

"That map could really help us regulators. It may even save lives." Carl shrugged, trying to keep everyone calm.

"Could you not get a map anywhere else?" Alexandra cried in frustration. James looked up at her through his shades as he kept his gloved mechanical hand and biological hand folded together on the table.

"Albany was the former capital of New York. I remember hearing of an archive up there. Even if we cannot find a map, we would certainly find more than enough information to help us get our bearings on the Hudson. Who knows, it could even help your merchant route." James explained.

"I still don't like it." Alexandra asserted. Julia touched her shoulder.

"We're not asking you to come, we just need you to drop us off there." Julia explained.

"And then what, sit around waiting for the next pirate ship to knock us out, did you think of that, Scribe?" Alexandra snapped. Julia glared at her.

"Alex, we could pull on shore and try to camouflage the ship. Besides, since everyone tries to avoid this place we may not find too many people." Saffron suggested.

"Don't you take their side, sister. There may very well be a bunch of savages using the dead city as a hangout." Alexandra growled.

"Look, just give us a day. You have Jared and I'm sure you both know how to use a gun. You also have Sufia and Ibrahim to help you out." Adam pointed out.

"You think a ghoul is going to be able to help us? He'll fall apart at the first gun burst." Jared grumbled. Ibrahim shot him a grouchy look. Considering his already devastated face, it appeared particularly angry.

"Guys, he does have a rather nasty looking sword, the most intimidating one I've ever seen." James offered. Ibrahim bowed.

"A family heirloom. My father said it was made by our ancestors from across a great sea." Ibrahim explained, pulling out the particularly dangerous looking scimitar.

"I'm sorry, but you don't look like you've ever fired a gun in your life, honey." Alexandra said to Sufia. The woman, her head always hidden under a headscarf, shook her head apologetically. Saffron suddenly felt Julia dropping a handful of caps into her hand.

"Buy a laser pistol with this for her from your cargo." Julia instructed quietly.

"Alex, I hate to pull rank on you but you're going to do this and you're going to wait for us. If you have to drop us off outside of Albany, we can hike the rest of the way. But you have to drop us off and you have to wait for us." Adam ordered. The two dominant personalities glared at each other.

"Don't call me 'Alex.'" Alexandra growled before storming off.

–

The Liberators waded through the shallows and onto the shore. The light was just starting to break the night and everything was a dim, pale color. The gray fog that blanketed the ground brought a chill with it that broke into their bones. Drawing up the rope they had used to lower themselves, they looked back at the crew that was holding the _Half Moon. _Julia called up to them.

"I've rigged the radio in there to respond to the radio set I made. I'll have it on my back at all times so I'll be able to let you know what's going on." Julia called to Alexandra on the deck. The merchant simply rolled her eyes and walked away. Julia shook her head and pulled up closer to James as they waded to the shore.

"She's such a prick..." Julia whispered.

"Hey, Rat!, no, don't come with us! It's too dangerous!" Carl called, noticing the rodent venturing too close to the railing.

"No, don't-"

They could only stare as the rat launched himself off the ship and landed with a splash into the water. A few moments later, they watched as the big wet ball of fur swam through the waters and onto the sandy shore before furiously shaking the water off its coat.

"Rat, why would you want to follow us?" James muttered, helping Julia out of the water. The rodent chirped at him.

"Stupid water making everything damp. This toxic poison better not have gotten into my fuel tank." Sven grumbled, checking his incinerator.

"That prissy witch better keep anchor." Adam grumbled, walking pass all of them.

"Julia, could you test the radio connection?" James asked. Julia nodded.

Looking over the whole rig, James could not help but be proud knowing he had married a genius. Taking a fission battery, Julia had rigged it to power a simple HAM radio which she hooked up to a rather long and powerful antenna which then connected to a headset and speaker. Yes, she looked a little silly with the long wire pointing out of the side of her helmet but it did the job.

"Half Moon, this is the Liberators, do you copy, over?" Julia tested. She was immediately greeted by Saffron's voice.

"We got you loud and clear! Uh...over." Saffron stated a bit enthusiastically.

"All right, just keep an ear on the radio but otherwise hold radio silence unless you need to report something important. Over." Julia chuckled.

"Okay! Er- over." Saffron replied.

"Well, that looks like it's all of us. Let's move out, we're burning daylight." Adam announced, leading the dripping, duster coated team. The rat scurried along right behind them."

–

"Trust me, nothing good can come from exploring that island." Lex asserted, sitting back down.

"Cowardice is not befitting a leader!" Norad trumped with a wave of his plasma rifle.

"Discretion is the better part of valor." Lex grumbled.

"What is so bad about the island, old man?" Cindy asked. Lex sighed and settled back in his chair. It seemed he had to steel himself to tell the story, as if it required tremendous strength to recall.

That or tremendous courage.

"Several years back when the Brotherhood first got here, we originally wanted to set up a larger base on Liberty Island, make it our home or keep in case anything happened to the _Defiance_. We sent a recon squad to check on it." Lex stated.

"What happened?" Mark asked.

"They dropped off the our transmission all at once. They were talking to us and then all of a sudden their radios stopped." Lex said.

"Didn't you check on the place for them, find out what happened?" Mark asked.

"Just before their transmissions cut off, they were inside the old fortress structure, the men started screaming. We never recovered their bodies. Star Paladin Tiberius, a hardened soldier, refused to send more personnel to inspect the face. The look on his face when he heard the soldiers screaming over the radio...I...I had never seen fear on Tiberius' face before or after that happened." Lex explained.

Mark and Cindy cast worried glances at each other.

–

A while back, Albany was the site of a great battle between gray coated Rangers and the black clad Talon Company. More damage was done to the old capital in two years than the two hours of atomic destruction during the Great war. Essentially leveled, save for a few forlorn and battered buildings, the ruined upon ruined city saw heavy, brutal fighting that had never been seen on American soil. Trench fighting, artillery fire, vicious combat and even chemical warfare, it would have been better off to drop an atomic weapon in the heart of the city than the two year long war. The atomic warhead would have done less damage and the horror would have been over in an instant.

"I really, really don't like this." Adam stated, leading them through one of the ruined trenches. Behind them, they could hear James muttering something under his breath. Carl stood on his toes for a moment to see over the trench before dropping back down again.

"I've never seen so many skeletons. How many people died here?" Carl asked breathlessly.

"Carl, please don't tell me." Julia said, casting uneasy glances at the mangled skeletons that were already numerous enough in the trenches with them.

"This is a bad place." Sven muttered behind his blast helmet. He noticed several of the skeletons laying with their hands encircled around where their necks were. He didn't want to try and figure that one out.

"Sven, stop, you're scaring me. If you say this is a bad place and you're the most insane out of all of us..." Adam trailed off, leading them through the damp defense works.

Behind them, the rat let out the closest thing it could manage to a whimper. It spotted a smaller, yet more vicious, cousin in the trench. Simply called corpse rats, these smaller rodents were about as close to a normal rat was before the war. No one liked the sight of them and they made their macabre dwellings among the ruins of the bones they could find. Disgusted, the Rat snatched the smaller rodent with its teeth and tossed it over its head.

"James, what are you saying?" Julia asked behind her husband. James spoke louder, an old prayer he had learned from his childhood.

"...Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one..." James recited from the Lord's prayer.

"I swear, Adam you better give me something to burn soon." Sven muttered, crunching an old skull under his foot into the mud.

"Wait, stop." Adam warned, holding fast in the trench, the mud ceasing to slosh under their footsteps. Adam looked back at James who had stopped dead in his prayer, his radar like senses and fierce concentration a testament that he too was trying to figure out whatever Adam had sensed.

"What is it?" Adam whispered. Before James could answer, the rat squeaked in fright before suddenly burrowing into the muddy wall of the trench. James walked forward and spoke in a hushed tone with Adam. The regulator leader nodded before looking at Carl.

"Follow us. Sven and Julia, stay here." Adam ordered as the three men ventured further into the trenches. Once they were out of earshot, Adam spoke to the men.

"Get out your melee weapons. I don't want to warn any further hostiles in the area that we're around." Adam warned, drawing out a dagger and his Chinese longsword. James already had his short blade out as Carl pulled out his super sledge.

"What do we got?" Carl asked quietly.

"Super mutants." James said.

The two men waited outside a bunker that was built into into the trench works. The entrance way into the bastion had a space where the men could wait out of sight for the passing super mutants to go through. They would simply wait for the mutants to walk right pass them before they made their move. All the men waited with steeled faces, their weapons ready. Adam's Chinese longsword had been sharpened and ready, its double edge and point deadly on all side. Carl's complicated super sledge had an internal mechanism that amplified the power of his already deadly swings, promising to crush whatever it landed on. James' single edged blade, unknown to him as a design that harkened back to a class of machetes called a "Bowie machete," had a keen single edge that ended into a surgical clip point.

The mutants lumbered right past them. Three of them.

Adam signaled to them and through much motioning, the leader was able to gesture to them what his daring plan was. Of course, no one was comfortable with it but in the tight space of the trenches, they had no choice. Carl immediately stepped forward but Adam made the first move.

The rearmost mutant simply grew a knife in the back of his head. Before the monster could collapse into the mud, Carl let out a grunt and raised his hammer high into the air. The second mutant was not able to even turn around, a heavy sledge hammer collapsing its head straight into its rib cage. Adam watched the remaining mutant and felt his heart rush into his throat. It looked like it might set off an alarm.

Dashing past all of them, James rushed the last mutant who was able to turn around. The super mutant opened its mouth to roar but only succeed in gurgling as a torrent of blood that streamed from its open mouth. Standing just below the mutant, James stepped to the side, avoiding the red fluid as he doggedly pulled his blade from a single but fatal thrust through the mutant's chest.

"Let's get the others." Adam said.

–

It took some traveling, but eventually the Liberators were pleased to find that the trench they were in opened up into a metro tunnel that had partially collapsed, exposing the inside to the rest of the world. Believing they would be marginally safer in there and hoping the metros would lead them directly to the archives, they filed into the old structure hoping for the best.

Instead, they found signs of recent human activity.

"Can't be that old, the embers are still warm." Adam observed, crouching down to better inspect the camp site. It was rather simple, a small fire and some discarded trash as well as some space that suggested someone had rested there.

"This could have been anything, travelers, refugees..." Carl listed.

"Raiders, Talons, someone who wants to shoot our heads off." James shrugged sarcastically.

"They didn't make a big enough fire." Sven grumbled.

"We just need to approach cautiously." Julia assured them, the rat keeping behind her but also looking up to the woman.

"Right." Adam agreed. They suddenly looked at James who suddenly brought his trade mark cautionary hand up. The man appeared to be listening hard.

"You got something?" Adam asked quietly.

"I'm not sure...but my gut is telling me they're close." James murmured.

"All right. You worked alone for awhile in the woods. I'll trust you better on this than myself." Adam said.

"Right...James breathed distractedly.

"All right, James, you're up front." Adam ordered. Quietly, the marksman crouched down and led them further into the tunnels.

The marksman walked slowly through the old tunnels, keeping an eye at the sight in front of him while the other eye watched through the scope, trying to spot anything too far ahead. It was too late to try and take out a flashlight and he was hoping his eyes would adjust to the dark soon. Heading up towards an old intersection, the man stopped dead in his tracks.

He could have sworn something was watching them.

The problem was that when he did see what was watching them, nothing in his pre-recorded experience told him this shape registered danger.

James, having unwittingly been raised Roman Catholic, as best as his parents could with whatever little information they had on their faith, rarely cursed. However, no sooner did he register the sudden flash exploding out of a barrel, his mouth dropped open.

The sensation of a round flying above his head yet _through_ his hat prompted a curse out of his mouth.

"Contact!" James announced, ducking down. They heard footsteps retreating just as a rather disgruntled James peeked back at his attacker, watching them disappear around an open door of a utility tunnel. The man crossed himself as a plea for forgiveness.

"Follow me!" Adam yelled and disappeared into the utility pass way.

The former assassin was rather surprised to find someone waiting for them directly around the door, certainly not was he expected from someone running just a few moments ago. Adam readied his silenced pistol and then watched in dismay as a solid object knocked the firearm out of his hand. Reacting quickly, still unable to fully register who their attacker was, Adam moved off of instinct and simply lunged at the man.

Yelling and shouting, the two ended up rolling down the stairs of the pass way.

Carl led the way, followed by Sven, then James, Julia and the rat. Adam had certainly cleared the distance quicker then the rest of them and from what they had gathered, Adam got into a bit of trouble though the noise suggested he was still alive.

Unfortunately, the Liberators had been assuming they were up against a single person this whole time.

Another shadow appeared in the doorway and fired at Carl. The giant's metal armor under his duster simply shrugged off the round and Carl reacted accordingly, unleashing a torrent of fire from his gatling laser. The others behind him shuffled to the sides of the door as he kept the fire up. They could still hear screaming coming from inside. Sensing something was wrong, Julia tapped Carl on the arm, signaling him to stop. The man ceased fire and walked up to inspect the damage.

Poking his head inside, he was surprised by what he saw. A small girl, petite really, with a coat much too big for her, was crouched down in fright in the corner. The whole incident had been a complete misfire. They had picked a fight with a frightened girl. Carl immediately felt bad.

"Hey there, sorry about that, honey." Carl apologized and knelt down to speak with her. Poor girl, she probably thought they were dangerous, such a large group of them walking through the dark tunnels. Carl glanced back to speak to the others.

"Guys, it's just a kid." Carl said before looking back at the petrified teenager.

"Hey, we didn't mean to frighten-"

Carl never finished that sentence because the small girl had launched herself, literally, at Carl's head.

"Get her off, get her off, get her off!!" Carl hollered, stumbling backwards out the door. James, Julia and Sven could only stare in bewilderment as a young girl, screaming hysterically, had wrapped herself like a vine around Carl's face. The three could only shrug as they knew they couldn't harm her yet seriously had to find a way to get her off of their friend's face.

The last time they found a young girl, she had done her best to stay the heck away from them, not hug them to death.

Sven rushed forward to try and pry her off but instead earned a boot to the face. Despite her small size, the girl had enough force to knock the man back. Julia winced as Sven fell flat on his spine. She then glanced up to see James draw his short blade. She shot him an angered looked, mouthing an assertive "No" as she did. James simply signaled to her to relax.

The rat meanwhile was watching this whole thing in complete confusion.

"We need you to calm down, kid!" James cried, prying her off the gagging Carl with a quick move of his mechanical left arm. The prosthetic caught the girl at the waist and he prayed she would quit flailing.

"Kid, seriously, we're not going to hurt-" James felt her hit him hard on the nose. Repeatedly.

The marksman was suddenly on the ground and to his surprise, the girl landed on top of him, a knife held high over his head. Steeling himself, James watched for any movements. Unknown to her, in the shadows, his right arm held his blade at the ready while his left mechanical arm waited to strike. He didn't want to hurt this girl but so help him-

"Stop! Enough!" Julia shouted. The three men and the girl looked up at the scribe, her plasma rifle out and pointed at the girl. For a moment, everyone, including the rat, stared at her in wide eyed silence.

"That is quite enough." Julia scolded.

James took the opportunity to knock the girl off of him and into the center of the group. His artificial reflexes in his left arm snatched the knife out of her grasp in doing so. He wiped the blood from his nose as he prepared himself to speak.

"You're quite a fighter girl, but we're not here to hurt you. However, you better tell us what happened to our friend who walked through that doorway." James instructed, tossing her back her knife as he resheathed his own blade.

Before the girl could speak, the regulators got their answer. A stranger in a gray duster with a matching combat armor and wide brimmed hat appeared. Julia immediately swung her plasma rifle and trained it on the man, stopping him in his tracks. Before they could interrogate him, they were surprised to hear Adam's voice from inside the stairwell.

"Whoa, hold it, Julia. This guy's a friend." Adam cautioned. Julia cautiously lowered her rifle. The new friend had long shaggy hair, green eyes and stubble on his face. Along his back was a lever action rifle, shotgun and he carried a magnum revolver in his hand.

"What happened to you guys?" Adam asked incredulously. Sven was developing a bruise on his face, Carl had just finished gasping and James wiped the last bit of blood from his face. He figured it out when a small girl, the one in the duster too big for her, scurried to take her place beside Adam's new found friend, wearing a small fedora on top of her petite frame.

"She did this?" Adam demanded of his team. He was met with dirty looks from his men while the other man shrugged.

"She _is_ a fighter." the stranger explained.

"Sooo...you two know each other?" James asked, pointing at both Adam and the new guy. Adam sighed before looking up to smile again.

"Lady, gentlemen...and rat..." the rodent looked up, having decided to hide itself behind Julia.

"May I present Lowell Morgan, childhood friend...and a cousin of Leslie." Adam finished the last part quietly. Lowell instead gave them a small salute. Adam pointed his Liberators out to make a more specific introduction.

"James Vanderbraun and Carl Thompson." Adam stated before Lowell, one step ahead of Adam, flinched at the sight of Sven, the pyromaniac lighting up a puff of smoke from his incinerator.

"Who the hell is that?" Lowell asked. Adam sighed.

"That is Sven...our friendly pyromaniac." Sven kept up a deranged smile.

"And the scribe is Julia?" Lowell asked for clarification. The others squinted at him.

"She's also my wife." James said quickly.

"How did you know I was a scribe?" Julia asked. Lowell waved the question off.

"Please, straight stance, new duster, bathed and finely maintained weapon, it's not hard to figure out. Besides, I spent two years fighting with the Brotherhood. Almost every scribe is the same description." Lowell stated. Julia nodded, rather impressed.

"And this is my traveling partner, Wilhelmina Jordan or 'Mina' for short." Lowell introduced, patting the adolescent's shoulder as he lit a cigarette.

"Yeah, we met." Sven grumbled, rubbing the sore spot on his face. The girl bowed a bit as she blushed.

"I'm dreadfully sorry, didn't know we were brothers in arms." Mina apologized. She certainly seemed well mannered. Lowell meanwhile noticed the rat watching from behind Julia's leg.

"Nice rat." Lowell told his childhood friend. The rat sat on its haunches and squeaked, as if taking the compliment. Lowell's grin became wider.

"So when's dinner?" Lowell joked. The rat squeaked in fright and dived back behind Julia.

"I'm only kidding, little guy." Lowell chuckled. The rat was not amused. Lowell noticed the scribe trying to figure out the scars on his face, three of them running along his countenance. Both she and James understood that to produce three gouges like that along his face would have required something catastrophic.

"This eye belonged to a deathclaw. Same one that did this to my face." Lowell explained, revealing a yellowed eye that he kept tied around his neck. Julia nodded before Lowell turned to Adam.

"So what brings you to hell, Adam?" Lowell asked as Carl and Sven found their bearings. Julia meanwhile tenderly wiped off the last bit of blood from under James' nose.

"We have to get a hold of some maps of the Hudson river. Our guys are having trouble with the river pirates." Adam explained.

"No kidding?" Lowell said, raising an eyebrow.

"You too, huh?" Adam asked, a bit shock. They stood around in silence, a bit of awkwardness settling on them. That was only slightly interrupted as Mina giggled, petting the rat on the head as the large rodent walked up to her and sat on its haunches to greet her. Julia meanwhile rolled her eyes as it seemed the answer was obvious.

"Well, since we're all after the same thing, Mr. Morgan-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't call me 'Mr. Morgan.' I'm not _that _old." Lowell chuckled. Julia rephrased her statement.

"Very well, Lowell, would you care to join us?" Julia finished. The man thought for a moment before nodding.

"Why not? Let's get moving." Lowell agreed before walking further down the corridor. James immediately realized something.

"Hey, wait. So Adam stabs me in the shoulder and calls it a signal that he in fact did not sell us out. Now your friend nearly blows my head off as a greeting? What kind of place did you two grow up in?" James asked sarcastically.

"That was Mina." Lowell said. Mina instead shrugged sheepishly. James meanwhile inspected his brimmed had while Julia playfully straightened out his dark hair. He glanced at the two holes where the bullet enter and exited his hat before glancing back at Mina.

"Nice shot, kid."

* * *

_Author's note: So this is where __Fallen Angels__ and __Half Moon__ will intersect for awhile. Wilhelmina Jordan and Lowell Morgan belong to EasyCompany506. Go read his story for his side of things. Yes, they're different. Different accounts. That's to keep things interesting. _


	8. Chapter 8

"_A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on."_

_-Carl Sandburg_

_

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_

Mark, Cindy and Norad walked from the Brotherhood base feeling a bit disheartened. Cindy noticed that Mark seemed a little more disgruntled by it than the rest of them. She didn't understand his constant need to be a workaholic.

"So what do we do now?" Cindy asked. Mark sighed as he seemed to slump his shoulders.

"We're still going to try to find a way there, but I suppose we're going to have to put it on the back burner. There are still more pressing matters to clear out here." Mark muttered.

"Oorah!" Norad cheered.

"So where do you want to go to now?" Cindy inquired. Mark scratched the stubble on his face for a moment as he looked up into the air thoughtfully.

"Lets take the long way back to the House. It is getting late and if we don't have any adventures, we could be there before evening." Mark suggested.

"Which means we get there at night if we do find something to blow up." Cindy added.

"That's one way of looking at it." Mark agreed.

–

The wasteland has a way of warping things. As far as combat goes, the world of the post Great War changed how conflict was conducted. The Liberators and their regulator allies represented how such warfare was defined. Under their coats, armor ranging from ceramic and ballistic padding in the form of combat armor, fire retardant materials and thick or thin metal plating depending on the armor involved. Their weapons ranged from improvised weapons and explosives, standard chemical ballistic weapons or high tech energy firearms salvaged from before the war. Some even carried melee weapons, a tactic not seen since antiquity.

Although they were not as well equipped as the Enclave or Brotherhood of Steel, no one could accuse them of not being versatile.

Once again, James was put up front, everyone else trusting on his senses which were honed to almost the point of paranoia working alone in the Catskill woods. The marksman himself described it more as a gut instinct. On the other hand, it did involve them taking a lot of stops because James' senses were going haywire, only to find out it was more his paranoia speaking than actual danger. He even managed to pick up six Talons that were not in fact there, ghosts still walking the cursed halls.

"Sven, how well do you know Albany?" Adam asked.

"I can't recognize it...but I have an idea on where things might be." Sven replied.

"How close do you think we're getting to the archives?" James asked.

"Right...now." Sven stated. They all stopped. Sure enough, there was the security gate, well hidden in the shadows.

Julia immediately started working with the terminal but was quickly turning up nothing. It takes time to negotiate with computers, slowly interrogating them until they either gave up the code or showed a weak point in their programming. Julia had been through it a couple times before and this one was going to take awhile.

Alas, Adam and Lowell were running out of patience.

"Something wrong?" Adam asked. Julia shook her head, her eyes narrowed in concentration.

"No, I'll get it, just give me a moment." Julia insisted. Carl secretly noticed Sven getting a sizable package of explosives out. Lowell beat him to the punch.

"Screw that. Get out of the way." Lowell ordered the scribe. The woman more scooted than protested and before she knew it, Lowell unloaded both barrels of buckshot into the terminal.

"Check it, I don't like being down here." Lowell ordered. Skeptically, Julia placed her hand on the door handle and it surprisingly slid open.

"See how much easier that was?" Lowell chuckled, walking past her. Julia muttered something under her breath but James patted her on the shoulder. The Brotherhood of Steel love of technology had never left her.

Finding the basement of the archives intact, the place had been relatively undisturbed for two hundred years, they immediately set to work. Adam and Lowell went off one direction, Sven and Julia started tackling the computers, trying to bring life back to the consoles. James, Carl and Mina started raiding the shelves. The rat just shuffled around in confusion as he had never seen this phenomenon among humans before. Peeking with its sharp eyes, it noticed Adam and Lowell working at a safe. A few moments of observation and it saw a gold glint coming from within the safe. It gave a knowing chirp. Human attraction to shiny objects was instead a very well recognized phenomenon.

Julia began searching through the holotapes and other documents. It seemed obvious that a Brotherhood Scribe would immediately figure out the old organization system the people before the Great War used to sort their information. Scanning the titles of the tapes, she doggedly kept searching.

Everyone nearly jumped when her radio went off.

"_Half Moon_ to Liberators, _Half Moon_ to Liberators. Erm, where are you guys!? Uh-over!" Saffron's voice radioed in. Julia switched the speakers before radioing back, still scanning what she could find on the shelves. She quietly smiled to herself when she pocketed a promising looking holotape.

"Roger, _Half Moon_, this is the Liberators. What's the problem?" Julia asked.

"My sister is getting anxious. I'd really suggest that you hurry back over. She's talking about leaving you guys. Over." Saffron reported.

"Roger _Half Moon_, we have what we came for. We're on our way back. Over." Julia reported. There was a final scuffle as everyone grabbed whatever they could before rushing out. Adam was belting off every curse from heaven and earth onto a certain ship captain.

--

The seven people, plus Rat, quickly rushed through the ruins of Albany. Sven was devastated behind the blast mask. The city he had known like the back of his hand was rendered unrecognizable. However, he had no time to mourn it as they had to hurry. Saffron had sounded desperate over the radio and Julia was certain from her tone that her sister Alexandra was not kidding. Whatever the reason was, that merchant wanted out and wanted out _now._

"So who is this Alexandra?" Lowell asked as they trotted along, all of them had their weapons out in case they had to make a hit and run with any hostiles.

"The woman in charge of the our ship, _Half Moon_." Adam explained.

"Why did you put her in charge?" Lowell inquired.

"Not enough of us know how to run a ship, only Carl does. Besides, we figured we would get a few caps out of selling it to her. Plus, it's not like we're going to be using a ship too often." Adam answered.

"And now look at the fine mess you got yourself into." Lowell snickered.

"Shut it." Adam bantered back.

"Hey guys, do you hear something?" Julia suddenly asked. Everyone continued running.

"James, if your wife picked danger out before you did, you're losing your touch." Carl said. James remained silent, but swung his rifle in a wide arc, his eyes peering through the scope.

"I don't see anything." James reported.

"No, it's not danger." Julia stated, suddenly stopping to look around. Everyone slowed down to a uneasy stop.

"Julia, what are you doing?" Adam demanded.

"No, I think I hear something too." Mina added. They suddenly noticed Rat break from the group and started sniffing at a pile of rubbish. Curious, the rodent began gently pushing aside some of the discarded rags with his claws. Julia and Mina immediately trotted up to see what the Rat was inspecting while the men formed a defensive ring around them. Their backs to the rodent and the women, they were unable to see what suddenly made Mina give out a shocked cry. James simultaneously felt Julia yank him closer to her from behind.

"Take my rifle, will you sweetheart?" Julia ordered more than asked, shoving the large energy weapon into James' arm. Her husband stared at her bewildered. He also glanced at Sven suspiciously as his friend seemed a little more than interested in the plasma rifle. Instead, James tossed him his laser rifle before placing the more advanced weapon in the laser rifle's former space. Sven felt a little cheated out but grudgingly took the laser weapon.

"Julia, why are you giving me this now?" James asked. That's when he actually looked at Julia who was crouched down on the ground. It wasn't until what he saw that was cradled in her arms that his heart skipped a beat. Then a couple others.

James' eyebrows shot above his glasses as his mouth dropped. Wrapped in his wife's arms was a small bundle that was softly crying. A baby's cry. The rat had led them to a human infant. A soft smile on her face, Julia stared into the abandon baby's eyes as she continued to kneel down so that both Mina and the Rat could see the child for themselves. It was a rather strange moment for all of them.

"Well, congratulations on your new new kid, James and Julia, but we really need to get back to moving out of here." Adam stated, shattering the moment.

"Wha, wait! Hold on, no one said anything-" James sputtered.

"Haha, you're parents now. Time to move!" Carl chuckled, bounding along.

"When we get back to the ship, can I hold him?" Mina asked, Julia nodded with a smile.

"Come on, Mina!" Lowell pressed, grabbing the girl by her backpack and encouraging her towards the direction of the ship.

"I'll fire off the celebratory bombs when we get to the ship. Can I please fire off a nuke? Just one?" Sven asked. James ignored him as he trotted alongside Julia.

"We need to talk later." James muttered to her.

Several minutes later, the group finally made it to the shoreline. Glancing up, Adam was able to see Jared's small but certain silhouette on the deck, signaling to the others on board to get ready. He could also hear Alexandra yelling about something on the ship but at the moment he did not care. The seven, plus the rat, waded into the shallows just as Jared lowered a heavy rope into the water. One by one the vigilantes climbed up the rope until only James and Julia were left. Julia, carrying the infant, securely held on the rope with one hand and was raised up until James could hold on as he scooped up the rat in his free arm and all of them were carried on board. They were scarcely on deck and Alexandra had already yelled for Saffron to raise anchor. The _Half Moon_ left its place and moved on the river.

–

Everyone went on with their lives and the new discoveries they had found as Adam and Alexandra traded heated words over the new situations. Alexandra was not exactly pleased with having so many hands on ship, in fact, she and Lowell had nearly killed each other when they first met. Why this was such an issue with Alexandra beyond Adam's understanding but he did not care anymore. What was more pressing to him was that Alexandra wanted to continue north on the river. The problem with that, especially after what they had seen, was that the Liberators desperately needed to get back to the Vault. They were going to need to regroup, resupply and stock up. Lowell had also explained to Adam that there were a few things a Vault might have that would be very useful for both himself and Mina. Alexandra was not happy with this in the slightest but Adam was able to convince her finally by the skin of his teeth.

Sometime during the night Ibrahim and Sufia walked into the kitchens after the evening prayers only to find a rather bizarre sight. A infant sat in a makeshift seat on the large counter while Julia and Mina finally stopped giving it attention, Mina more out of fascination while Julia was finishing an affectionate check up. Across the counter, Sven, Carl, Adam and Lowell stared at the infant in a single group, James was in front of all of them, closest to the child.

"Well, he's a healthy baby boy, a little undernourished but I think he'll be fine." Julia said, finally finishing. Ibrahim folded his arms for a moment as his slightly clouded over eyes surveyed the whole thing.

"You regulators look like you want to interrogate the child." the ghoul stated, a bit of a chuckle on his ragged voice.

"We'll, I'd ask how he ended up in the middle of a war zone without getting eaten. Where did he come from?" Lowell muttered. After two years of war in that smoking crater, it did not seem anything would live there very long.

"Are your parents alive? Why would they abandon you there? Even a raider mother wouldn't be that heartless..." James muttered.

"Guys...he's about a year old...he's not going to answer your questions." Julia pointed out, standing next to James.

"I think you should give him a name." Julia suggested to her husband. James did not look up at her.

"Why does this look so darn familiar?" Adam muttered to himself.

"We do have a tendency of finding little ones out there in the wastes as the records would show." Carl stated thoughtfully.

"And little explosives!" Sven added. Julia just watched on as James extended his left mechanical hand and arm and hung a metal digit over the child's head, testing to see if the child might notice.

"Hmmmm...I didn't think I would be trying to find a name anytime soon..." James muttered to himself.

"Well you better think quickly then." Julia chided playfully.

"Where did you come from, little one?" James said quietly to himself. A few more moments passed before the regulator spoke again.

"Well, while you're with us, your name will be Isaac." James announced.

"Why Isaac? Carl asked.

"I read somewhere that it means 'Laughter.' Lord knows we could use some source of joy around here." James muttered. He was a bit taken aback when the infant reached out and his tiny hand firmly grasped one of James' artificial fingers.

* * *

_Author's Note: Same rules still apply, Lowell Morgan and Mina Jordan belong to EasyCompany506. Check his story, Fallen Angels, for his side of things when it updates. _

_And many thanks for the reviews, suggestions and applause thus far. It is a blessing_


	9. Chapter 9

_Actions speak louder than words_

_And yet the softest words spoken can shatter souls_

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_

Ibrahim woke in the small room that he and Sufia were able to secure. The ever present noise of the engine was the first thing to greet him. Across from him, Sufia was still sleeping soundly. He would have to wake her up soon. She was a heavy sleeper and she was not happy when he did not wake her in time for the morning prayers. Sure, he could come across as a bit cold and detached. He was a ghoul for crying out loud, did people expect him to be skipping around all the time when he was practically a living corpse?

It also wasn't as if he hated the faith his sister held more than he. In fact, in his heart of hearts he still found a place for the faith his parents had taught them, the one his sister still doggedly pursued. Ibrahim gently rubbed his forehead with his skeletal hand. His parents, especially his father, was always traveling, always seeming to try and find _someplace_, a place he no longer remembered. He was not sure his father did now that he thought of it. That endless journey through their childhood cost his parents their lives.

It cost him his humanity.

At least Sufia made it out relatively unharmed. He was grateful for her, he really was. But seriously, could she blame him for just being a little unenthusiastic? It wasn't as if he was really fully human anymore. Well, maybe a little bit of him was. He gently patted Sufia who immediately, if groggily, put her headscarf on and they left to do their morning prayers.

There was not a lot his parents were able to teach them but one of the things they got down was a morning prayer, immediately when they woke up. It was to be done facing east. Coming up on deck into the cool Hudson air, they found the east shore, lowered themselves to the deck and place their forehead on the boards to recite the prayer.

Their devotions finished, they turned around to return to the ship when Ibrahim nearly jumped. He had not expected to see Julia and James awake yet. The two were sitting on a bench, their eyes closed until they both crossed themselves in unison. Walking past them, Ibrahim noticed the well worn Christian holy book sitting on James' lap.

Their morning devotion also finished, Julia took a moment before looking at James.

"Well, you said we needed to talk?" Julia started. James simply nodded.

"Well...we kind of skipped a rather important step but it seems we have a son now." James muttered sarcastically. Julia giggled quietly.

"Well, it wasn't for lack of trying." she chided playfully. James shot her an alarmed looked.

"Julia, not so loud." James scolded. Julia shot him a skeptical glance.

"James, there's no one-" James cut her off and pointed at the Rat who just happened to walk in on them. Julia rolled her eyes.

"James, you honestly believe he understands what we're talking about?" Julia inquired in exasperation. James nodded his head firmly.

"Yes!"

Ironically, the rat let out a rather amused sounding squeak.

"Rat, could you please give us a moment?" Julia asked with exaggerated politeness. Still chattering to itself, James was convinced that was the way the rat laughed, the rodent scampered off.

"Now, what are you worried about?" Julia turned her attention to James.

"I was wondering how we're going to handle this. I'm a little worried about leaving you alone in the Vault with Isaac but-"

"James, I'm still going with you." Julia stated flatly.

"Well we can't leave Isaac by himself." James retorted.

"We're taking him with us." Julia said.

"But the dangers and-"

"James, I'm not taking an infant into a shootout. We can leave him here on the _Half Moon. _The only reason I'm insisting that we take him for now is just in case we run into his real mother out there." Julia reassured. James raised an eyebrow at her.

"For someone that was talking about children, I highly doubt you'd so easily return him back to his parents."

"It would be the right thing to do. I'm not going to take any mother's child away from her." Julia defended.

"Even if they're still alive, which I doubt, how are we going to find them? Besides, assuming they're alive again, do we really want to leave Isaac with people who abandoned him in the middle of a battlefield?" James asked rhetorically. Julia rested her head on his shoulder.

"We still need to try, but you're right, I am already treating him like my son."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't expect anything else from you. As much as you accuse me of it, you're just as big a softie as I am." James muttered playfully. Julia smiled and held his hand.

"I'm glad you're being supportive about this."

"Would it be right for me to do otherwise?" James asked rhetorically. Suddenly, they heard a soft cry from inside. Apparently, Isaac was vehemently announcing that he was hungry. The two adoptive parents sighed though they still held smiles.

"Well..at least I didn't have to give birth to him." Julia muttered. James had already left to check on Isaac.

–

There is more than one way to catch a mirelurk. If you cannot go on land or stop your ship, you were thrown into a more difficult situation but not necessarily an impossible one. Since it was rare for a lurk to casually drift to the surface of the water, you generally had to use some bait. This morning, Carl decided to go on the last several pieces of mirelurk meat they had that was starting to spoil. He also threw together a makeshift harness that attached to the rope they had used to pull themselves on board the other day. Now, the giant was almost literally hanging off the side of the _Half Moon_ while Sven and Jared waited for his signal. Bored, Ibrahim walked up to Sven and was rather impressed by the whole getup.

"What does he intend to catch?" Ibrahim asked the pyromaniac.

"Mirelurks." Sven replied. Ibrahim's clouded eyes went wide.

"How does he intend to do that?" the ghoul asked in shock.

"Bait the suckers and then shock them. I personally wanted to just start dropping bombs over the side but Carl said we might accidentally damage the hull. Bloody shame if you ask me." Sven murmured.

His legs firmly anchored on the hull, Carl held onto a long cord that went down into the river, the spoiled meat bobbing in the water.

In his other hand was a hastily thrown together impromptu crossbow. Ominously, at the bottom of the crossbow's stock was the familiar shape of a fission battery.

His eyes, though they suffered from some kind of infirmity, immediately were alarmed by a stray movement on the water. The protrusions of a lurk's armored carapace made an ugly wake on the river's surface. The V shape got closer to the meat and then, quite promptly, the water broke revealing the gaping maw of the monster open to devour the food.

Carl fired the bow.

The bow fired a heavy metal arrow, electrodes studding its entire surface at regular intervals. The spike slammed into the creature, the armor giving way under the projectile but preventing it from sinking too far to make any fatal wounds. However, before the lurk could respond, Carl tapped another button on his bow which closed a circuit between the bow, the projectile and a two way wire that kept the two together.

The fission battery sent its deadly charge into the lurk, practically cooking the creature and sizzling a sizable radius in the river water. After a few moments, Carl hit a switch that detached the wire from the battery and used the lure rope to pull the lurk towards him. In one swift motion, he drove his hammer onto the creature's head, cracking the armor and ensuring that it was really dead.

"All right, haul me up! I got breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next couple days!" Carl announced joyfully.

It took Jared, Sven, Ibrahim and a few quick tugs from the rat to finally get the giant and his catch back on deck.

"Geez, you guys need to work out." Carl murmured.

Below deck, Isaac back in Julia's care, James had asked Saffron if he could take a look at their stock again. Saffron tied her hair back into a bun as she tossed open a cabinet.

"So what do you have in mind?" the merchant asked. James tossed her his hat.

"Got something to trade for that?" James asked. Saffron frowned at the two bullet holes in the hat but then a light went on in her head.

"We might get some added price off of that if we say it belonged to a Liberator. However, I think this looks like it might suit you." Saffron stated and tossed him a new hat. James glanced at it. As far as shapes go, it looked like a regular Enclave officer's cap. However, it had a green camouflage color design, almost matching with his duster. James tried it on before pulling the brim just above his brow.

"How do I look?" James asked.

"I was right. It suits you." Saffron said.

"So how much?" James inquired.

"We'll call it a fair trade." Saffron offered.

"All right." James smiled and left. Several moments later, he dropped in on Julia to get her opinion. The scribe frowned as she cradled Isaac in her arms.

"That looks like a Enclave officer's hat." Julia pointed out.

"Yes, but it's not black, it'll help me blend in a bit." James stated.

"But it looks like it belongs to the Enclave." Julia repeated.

"But it's not their color." James restated.

Julia stuck her tongue out at it as her most professional statement of Brotherhood disgust for the Enclave.

Adam calmly strode onto the bridge and was not surprised to see Alexandra continuing to man the helm. She glanced at him for a moment before putting her eyes back on the river. Adam shuffled around a bit before opening his mouth to speak.

"Do you ever sleep? You're always here at the helm when I see you." Adam stated. Alexandra did not answer him.

"Oh come on, are you going to hold a grudge over that? Besides, you were the one being a jerk about it. If you had not threatened Lowell when he first got on board, he would not have hit you to the floor." Adam grumbled.

"Adam, I did not live to this day simply letting strangers waltz onto my crew! You of all people should know that there are people out there just waiting to stab you in the back, so forgive me if I'm not supernatural enough to go and blow up a giant slug but just because someone is your friend doesn't mean I'm just going to welcome them with arms wide open. Heck, especially if they're your friend I'd be more inclined to stick a gun into their face, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat!" Alexandra screamed. Adam winced.

"Well I'm sorry...I didn't know you felt that way about it but why can't you trust us?" Adam demanded.

"Let's start with you demanding to go and visit Albany, number one ghostly hellhole in New York." Alexandra sneered. Adam rubbed his head and sighed.

"Look, I do appreciate you putting up with all of this and I understand, you have a business to run. However, I still think there's a way we can make this a profitable arrangement for all of us so could we please try to be more civil about this? I mean, we're probably still going to be working together a lot more in the future." Adam pointed out. Alexandra rolled her eyes.

"Fine. I'll _try _to be more civil." Alexandra muttered.

"Yay, good. We can all be friends." Adam stated in relief.

"No. That does not mean I'm going to try and be your friend." Alexandra shot.

"Suit yourself, Alex. By the way, you're going to have to drop us off at the Vault. We'll be ready in two days so maybe you would like to go into the City and do business there until we're ready." Adam said, walking off.

"Fine, whatever, looks like I'm going to have to take whatever I can get. And don't call me 'Alex,' you prick!" Alexandra screeched just as Adam walked off.

James had taken up watch on the stern of the _Half Moon_. The closer south ships got towards the city, the more control the local militias and security forces had so pirates tended to stay away from there. However, it was not unheard of for pirates to try and launch a daring raid trying to catch transport and merchant ships hurrying to make it to the safety of the lower Hudson river. The last thing he wanted was a ship sneaking up on them.

Otherwise, the man leaned against the railing, his new cap and glasses shading his eyes from the sun while his gloved mechanical arm and hand sat interlocked with his human one. He momentarily unclasped his hands to rub his artificial arm. That phantom pain was acting up again.

The rat walked up next to him, glanced up at the man and then sat back on its haunches, as if he wanted to keep watch with James, or at least keep the man company. Eventually, Mina showed up, playfully patted the rat's head and also watched the river. James looked over at her.

"That was a bloody good shot with that rifle. I've been shot at and shot, but never had a bullet go through my hat." James told her. Mina blushed.

"I'm terribly sorry about the hat, sir." Mina apologized again.

"Don't worry about it...see those radscorpions over there on the shore?" James asked, pointing the giant insects on the riverbank. Mina squinted her eyes.

"Yes." Mina said.

"Show me how good you are. Try to shoot one of their poison glands from here." James challenged. Mina took it up without hesitation.

The marksman was impressed on how relatively steady the petite girl could hold the rifle she had. Watching, James followed the round she fired which landed just below the scorpion's poison gland. Look back to his side, he watched her eject the spent round, line up again, hold her breath and then fired again. The second scorpion suddenly lost its stinger.

"I was aiming for the gland itself." Mina admitted. James watched the shore and suddenly saw a lone deathclaw watching them from the river.

"Come here." James ordered, pulling out his rail rifle as he knelt down so that he was at her level. He chambered a railroad spike in a sabot, an increasingly rare ammo round he carried these days as his custom made heavy bolts were increasing in supply.

"Here, try to nab that deathclaw with this. I'll hold the barrel, you just aim and tell me how to move it." James offered. Cautiously, Mina shouldered the custom made rifle and waited until the crosshairs showed the ugly brute within its sights.

"Move up just a hair...good...now to the right a little...hold...good..." Mina ordered. Suddenly, the rifle screamed and the spike shot out of the barrel. Mina watched breathlessly as she saw the round slam into the deathclaw's head and took it clean off the rest of the body.

"Not bad..." James muttered, taking his rifle back.

"I think I know just what you need back at the Vault. I got an extra scope laying around. I'll install it for you." James offered.

"Why, that is very generous of you, sir."

"Don't mention it kid. Besides, next time I'm on the wrong end of the gun you'll see clearly not to shoot." James muttered sarcastically.

–

"So you think your Vault will have the necessary equipment to read the holotapes and then make copies of any maps we may find?" Lowell asked Adam as they neared the drop point.

"That Vault has the most high tech stuff I know of in the area...other than the Brotherhood of Steel down in the city but I don't like to bother them." Adam explained.

"I assume you have a plan then?" Lowell asked, both men leaning against the railing of the _Half Moon_.

"I told Alexandra that we'll take two days to regroup and resupply. The guys are going to want to restock on ammo, James and Julia are going to want to do something about that kid, who knows what the ghoul and his sister will be doing and I'm sure Alex wants us away for awhile. It will also give us time to look over the maps." Adam explained.

"And when the two days are up?" Lowell inquired.

"Alex will pick us up." Adam answered.

"Gotcha." Lowell nodded. He suddenly noticed Adam's head perk up.

"Hey...hey wait! This is the place. Shoot, I got to tell Alex to stop. Hey, Alex! Stop the ship!" Adam hollered, running back towards the bridge. Lowell rolled his eyes and took a drag from his cigarette.

"Don't know how he ever got put in charge of anything more than his sorry hide..." Lowell muttered to himself.

–

Mark, Cindy and Norad made their way along the shore line on the eastern side of the city just outside of Queens. With only the old, rickety Queensboro bridge still standing, they did not want to risk crossing over there just yet. Cindy could also tell that Mark was still desperately searching for a ship of some sort. He really was set on visiting that one island. Why, she would never know. Eventually however, she could tell he was leading them towards Queens.

"We're going to make another sweep into Queens. The Liberators could not find much when they made their initial sweep but you never know what you'll find the second time around." Mark explained.

"Sounds good to me." Cindy stated, readying her explosives launcher.

However, they were forced to realize that save for the off chance of a benign and stray passing ferry going by, the only real chance they had of getting into Queens was passing the bridge like the Liberators before them. Even Norad seemed to whirr in hesitation as the three slowly made their entrance on the passway. The ruined holes in the road as well as the general pathetic look of the structure did not play well with all of them and the group did their best to ignore it.

Mark, finding that exceedingly difficult, tried to make a joke.

"Heh heh, maybe you'll look like this someday, Norad." Mark chuckled nervously. The Mr. Gutsy focused a mechanical eye at the regulator with programmed annoyance.

"Hogwash, soldier! I'd sooner die well in glorious battle then rust to heck like this scrap heap."

"I could always donate a dynamite stick if you ever feel the need to just go away." Cindy shot, Mark becoming just a bit nervous when he noticed a bit of that raider sadism tainting that smile Cindy had.

"I said glorious battle, not stupidity, nutcase." Norad growled. Mark noticed a fleeting sting in Cindy's eyes. Cradling his assault rifle a little closer to himself, he felt bad that she still carried the guilt of her former life but there was a touch of consolation in that sympathy. Guilt meant that she felt bad. It meant that she still had hope.

"All right guys, try to focus." Mark muttered as he continued to lead them.

–

At the right location on the Hudson, the _Half Moon_ pulled up on the eastern shore and lowered a rope down into the shallows. The rat was the first to leave the ship, simply leaping off the deck and into the water before furiously scooting onto the shore. Finally making it onto the land, its fur dripping with water, it looked back at the rope before shaking the liquid off its coat.

Julia led the way, herself being lowered slowly because she held Isaac in one hand. However, after she had waded to safety, the others simply slid down the rope. Adam was the last to descend as he was having a final briefing with Alexandra and he wanted to make a few things clear.

Of course, Alexandra had to prompt it herself.

Lowell and Adam were the last to lower themselves into the water. At first, Adam was glad he wasn't going to have to go hunting for her but it seemed like Alexandra had something to say to Lowell first. His heart skipped a beat initially. His friend and Alexandra did not meet on the right foot at all but then again, Alexandra looked like she would try to keep it civil. She cleared her throat to get Lowell's attention.

"Captain?" Lowell greeted. In a flash, Alexandra threw her fist into his face, sending him off the ship and into the water, much to everyone's horror. Landing into the river, Sven and Carl helped Lowell up to his feet as everyone stood in shock, wondering what would happen. Surprisingly, Lowell let out a laugh and saluted the merchant.

"I suppose I had that coming." Lowell said.

"Now we're even." Alexandra shot. Adam immediately tapped her on the shoulder to give her a very stern order.

"Two days. That's 48 hours. We'll meet you at noon here on the third day. Don't you dare considering going AWOL on us." Adam warned softly but firmly.

"You better pray business is good in the city. Two and a half days is a lot of money to lose if you're not making transactions." Alexandra retorted. Jared and Saffron, both watching on, tried to stay out of it, though Saffron seriously wished her sister would not be so harsh while Jared simply wanted it over and done with.

"Going a whole journey without extra hands to defend you from pirates can be a much steeper cost." Adam replied darkly.

"I do a better job avoiding danger, something you should learn." Alexandra shot back. Adam made his way towards the rope.

"Two days. I'll see you on the afternoon of the third. If you're not here, know that I will make you pay a heavy fine." Adam said, descending the heavy cord.

"And if you're not here, know that you can walk the entire Hudson for all I care. Jared, raise anchor!" Alexandra ordered. Adam's eyes went wide as the ship lurched and he practically fell into the water, becoming completely soaked. As soon as the _Half Moon _was gone, and Adam still stumbling through the shallows, Lowell helped to steady his old friend as he gave a final salute to the leaving ship.

"She's got quite a temper, eh?" Lowell said with a smile.

"That was most discourteous of her." Mina mumbled. Julia nodded in agreement.

"Stupid woman needs to learn there's more to life than just caps." Adam grumbled. Lowell immediately made a face as he tried to hold back a torrent of laughter. James, Carl and Sven made no such restraints.

"Wha-What? What's so funny?" Adam demanded.

"Like you should talk." James snickered before making his way towards the Vault.

"Hey! There's a difference between the both of us and you know it!" Adam hollered after him.

"What, that you're a man and she's a woman?" Sven bantered.

"Haha, very funny, Sven!" Adam growled.

"Heheh, you two should talk about it sometime. All that arguing you do, I have a feeling that has more to do with tension than anything else." Carl boomed. Adam's face registered horror.

"Why you big oaf! The only tension we have is the fact that I'm a decent guy and she's a complete-"

"Before you finish that sentence, I'm going to have to agree with your big friend here on this one." Lowell interrupted, lighting a cigarette.

Eventually, the group made it to the mouth of the cave and up to the terminal that would allow them back into the Vault. Everyone seemed ready to get a little security and take a breather. Isaac quietly started to fuss prompting Julia to give him attention but otherwise everyone took a moment to admire the giant metal door. However, they first had to wait for both Lowell and Adam. Lowell had found Leslie's grave site outside the cave and the others suspected that they needed a moment to themselves. Of all the Liberators, Carl was the oldest and perhaps the most sentimental. He remembered when Adam first saw that grave just outside their door. He did not know Leslie very well but she must have been a remarkable woman to have such respect from her friend and cousin. Lord knew how precious life was these days. The giant of a man muttered a quick prayer of respect before lifting his eyes. Adam and Lowell had returned.

"Ever been in a Vault before, kid? You're going to love this one." Carl said to Mina.

"I'm sure it will be splendid." Mina stated.

"So how much stuff you got holed up in here, Adam?" Lowell asked.

"Enough." Adam said with a chuckle, typing in the proper password.

"We have bombs. Sugar bombs too, but mostly bombs. Well, I have mostly bombs. Lighters too." Sven announced. Carl leaned down to talk to Lowell.

"I have no clue what he's talking about with the sugar bombs." the giant admitted. Lowell just simply nodded. The door finally swung open with a heavy groan revealing the inside of their giant steel abode.

"Home sweet- Hey, Francis, it's just us." James assured, finding the old regulator in the doorway with his plasma rifle shouldered. The old man grunted.

"Hmph, you should've knocked first. Holy crap, how many people did you bring back?" Francis grumbled, surveying all of them."

"Nice to see you again, too." Lowell bantered. Francis' gaze wandered to Isaac. He looked back at James.

"Now that's just freaking impossible. Tell me you found the kid because I'm certainly not paying you two to break every law of biology known to-"

"Yes, we found him!" James said quickly.

–

"Mark...I'm finding this a tad bit uncomfortable." Cindy announced. They had made it into the old boroughs of Queens awhile ago and were now wandering through the streets, looking for any signs of human activity, hostile or otherwise. Mark was quietly wondering whether to turn back or try to set up camp for the night. Of course, that question would become quickly moot if something came out and killed them.

"I'm not liking it either." Mark replied quietly, scanning the old ruined buildings. Everything was deathly quiet.

"You got anything, Norad?" Mark asked. The machine took a moment to monitor the area.

"Sensors scanning...multiple contacts detected, I repeat, multiple contacts detected." Norad informed. Cindy and Mark shouldered their weapons like it was a reflex.

"Where?" Adam demanded.

"Come on, tin man." Cindy shot, her eyes darting left and right.

"Closing in at less than ten yards. Tactical formation assessment...yeah, we're surrounded." Norad muttered flatly.

"Then how come I can't see them? Wait-" Mark suddenly saw figures emerging from the first floors of the building. Norad was right, they were completely surrounded by at least twenty people. All of them were armed and did not appear too friendly. Mark swallowed nothing with a dry throat while Cindy felt her breathing go up, trying to steady herself.

"Mark, what do we do?" Cindy whispered, unsure of what to do next. Why weren't they shooting at them? This would have been so much easier if she was still a raider.

"I'd say we'd...well, think fast and keep living, I know that's what I want to do." Mark replied

* * *

_Author's Note: Lowell Morgan and Mina Jordan still belong to EasyCompany506. Go check Fallen Angels for his side of things, plus the story is awesome. _


	10. Chapter 10

_Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted._

_Though mourn too loudly in the lawlessness of the wastes_

_And someone might put a bullet through your head._

_Granted, that's the only comfort some people know how to give these days_

_

* * *

  
_

Adam gave Francis a quick rundown of what had transpired. The regulator grandmaster listened carefully to what Adam had to say and nodded when appropriate. Adam on the other hand spoke with a lot of energy.

"Seriously, of all the merchants you had to run into, you had to run into the one that happened to be the biggest pain in the neck to suggest running my ship?" Adam demanded. Francis chuckled dryly.

"If I remember correctly, that was your end of the bargain and you were under no obligation to choose her." Francis explained. Adam did not feel like pursuing the argument.

"Whatever. We're going to spend two days to resupply here. Where do you want to send us next?" Adam inquired. Francis had already taken the stack of holotapes to a sizable computer in the Vault and, with a little help from Julia, was running an automated program on the machine to glean whatever information it could from the storage units.

"Once any maps are deciphered, I'll give you my final word. However, I am thinking that you guys should head further upriver. There's also a branch off the Hudson called the 'Mohawk.' Go take a look up there as well. You should ask Carl about it, he grew up there." Francis said. Adam nodded. It sounded like it was going to be a big adventure all over again.

And for the first time in a long while, Adam wondered if he was getting too old to go on big adventures. He mentally slapped himself for thinking such blasphemy. He was just barely in his prime.

That was when the door from the restroom opened up and Lowell stepped out. Seeing Francis again, Adam's old friend extended his hand and greeted Francis. The venerable regulator raised an eyebrow and the hint of a crooked smile.

"I hope you washed your hands." Francis remarked and started to lead them forward. They walked in silence for a moment before Francis spoke up again.

"Well, I'm glad you two were able to get those maps and documents from Albany. Not many others would have been crazy enough to try that." Francis complimented. Suddenly, Adam looked like he had an epiphany. Francis rolled his eyes and prepared himself to be asked for a raise.

"Why didn't you tell me Lowell was a regulator?" Adam asked. If Francis was caught off guard, he hid it well.

"And why didn't you tell me that Adam was headed for the capital as well? We almost killed each other." Lowell demanded. Francis waited a moment before his face once again showed a cheeky grin.

"Neither of you asked." Francis answered. The two scowled at him. Francis decided to get back to business.

"The holotapes may have suffered degradation and there will only be so much the computer will be able to recover. It will take awhile to formulate the information into a single whole. Not to mention some are encrypted so that means it will take longer." Francis announced.

"Well, have fun then, I have business elsewhere." Lowell said. Adam looked a little disappointed.

"You're not staying?" Adam asked.

"No, I work better alone or as a pair." Lowell explained, lighting up another cigarette.

"I'm going to friggin die from these things." the man muttered.

–

Francis sat in front of the computer that was tasked with decrypting and restoring the recovered holotapes. Images and articles flashed before him, the redeemed information being given a glance on the monitor before the next bit of datum was pieced together. The old man briefly glanced at Rat who hopped up on the console to get a better look but otherwise ignored the rodent. Perhaps the creature found it interesting, he did not quite know.

The rat also watched the screen with intense curiosity. It saw the articles go by. "Entropy," "String Theory," "Quantum Physics," "Hide Curing." The list kept going on. Suddenly, an article came up to which the rat could not help but tilt its head in interest.

"Cheese."

Rat suddenly felt his stomach growl and he did not know why.

–

Mina looked around Jame's workshop. Everything was in order and categorized with a kind of clarity that was not easily found in the wastes. Laying her rifle on the table, James disappeared into a back room before returning with a spare scope, his duster coat having its sleeves rolled up to his elbow. Mina stifled a gasp at the blatant, artificial machinery that made up the prosthetic of his left arm. Although she had noticed it before, it did not hit her until just now, seeing the machinery, steel and pistons all laid bare in the light.

James got to work and with rapid efficiency, the prosthetic quickly installing the scope on her rifle with breathtaking speed that only befitted a machine. Secured, James took it up and made the final adjustments.

"You're going to need to make sure everything lines up yourself. All of the adjustments are rather self explanatory. Just remember that when you go at the longer ranges you're going to have to account for gravity, wind speed and other environment factors." James said, handing it to her. Mina admired the new addition to her weapon.

"All right, this is a simple adjustable scope. It magnifies everything by six times, which should reach to about 2000 feet." James finished. Mina smiled at him.

"Thank you, sir." Mina stated and left. James waited till she was safely out of sight before his face fell into a picture of agony, holding the prosthetic with his right hand, desperately trying to make a burning pain go away from a limb he no longer had.

The phantom pain, contrary to what his research told him, was getting worse.

–

Back when he grew up on the Mohawk, Carl had spent so much time preparing to be a fisherman that he learned a thing or two about cooking. Fishermen tended to be on the edge of cooking, after all, you had to know how to stretch the limits of how you can prepare a single meat.

Furthermore, Carl simply loved his food.

This was the entire reason he was the elected chef of the Liberators and ruler of his domain, the Vault kitchens. The last of the Brahmin steaks Lowell had in his possession were now under Carl's care, cooking on the Vault grill. Sven, looking a bit odd without his blast helmet, loitered around while James also appeared, followed by Mina who simply sat at the table. They guessed that Francis was still staring at the decrypting data.

Sven and James helped Carl a bit in the kitchens when they noticed the banter between Lowell and Adam hitting a crescendo. Apparently, putting the two together was a good way of sending them back to being kids again. The only caveat was that they became kids with adult antics. More specifically, it came down to the two old friends challenging each other to a drinking game.

"Hey Carl! When you get a minute, send over three bottles of whiskey, two shot glasses and a bottle of warm milk for Miss Anders here." Lowell ordered was casting a mischievous look at Adam. Carl chuckled before sliding the proper orders down the counter to them, save for the glass of warm milk. Adam glared at Lowell before rising to the challenge.

"Boy, I will drink you under the table!" Adam shot.

"We're not talking about sperm Adam, we're talking about whiskey." Lowell retorted. The men in the kitchens overheard the whole thing. The jib sent a jolt through all of them and James could not help himself but laugh while placing a hand on his forehead.

"Shut up, James!" Adam shot though a smile hung on his face.

"Aw, what's the matter? Can't the baby take a joke?" Lowell bantered. Adam glanced back at him, a crooked smile still hanging on his face.

"I hate you."

Back in the kitchens, Carl leaned down to make a comment to Sven.

"I can see where he got his quick tongue." the giant said.

Eventually, the food was ready and everyone had sat down for food, save for Francis who declined dinner. Even the rat was once again happily stuffing his snout into a Pork n Beans can. However, he did raise his head for a moment to stare at Adam and Lowell in confusion. He gathered the two humans were engaged in some sort of phenomenon called "entertainment" but why humans found ingesting a mild poison "entrainment" was beyond the rodent's mind. He went back to eating.

Julia and Mina sat next to each other, watching the antics between Lowell and Adam in quiet disbelief. James and Sven muttered with each other, apparently guessing who would win the contest. "Does Lowell always-"

"Yes." Mina replied, foreseeing what Julia was going to ask. The adolescent then looked at the older woman.

"Does Adam usually-"

"Oh yeah." Julia nodded.

"Ha, betcha the new guy wins." Sven snickered. James felt a small handful of caps in his pocket.

"Sven, I'm normally not a betting man, but what's a bunch of caps among friends? Besides, I'm betting on Adam." James replied.

"I'll never understand men." Mina said quietly to Julia, rolling her eyes. Julia smiled.

"Honey, you don't need to understand them, you just need to bang your lashes, look pretty and they'll do just about anything for you." Julia snickered and they shared a laugh. Julia however made a final adjustment.

"But make sure you find one that cares and values you for who you are." Julia added, glancing at James.

About half an hour later and and several full finished meals, Adam and Lowell were clearly nearing the end of the contest. Lowell still appeared a bit comfortable. Unfortunately, Adam seemed rather consistent with a tall building swaying under a bunch of rotten beams.

"Come on now, Adam. You're not keeping up." Lowell prodded. Determined, though his eyes appeared a bit unfocused. Adam slowly grabbed the shot glass and numbly swallowed the contents.

He continued to sit one more moment before falling like a house of cards and landing on his left side. Game over.

"Dang." James muttered, dropping a diminutive amount of caps into Sven's hands. The pyromaniac chuckled a little too eerily upon receiving them. James detected a familiar glint of him cooking up some kind of explosive idea with the caps, though how he was going to do that the marksman did not know. He decided not to try.

"Huh, he almost made it halfway." Lowell muttered. James walked over and, deciding it only as a precaution, stuck a syringe of detox compound into Adam's arm. It would help absorb some of the alcohol in his system and help minimize the damage, plus the inevitable hangover the next morning.

"All right, lets get him to his room where he'll sleep it off." Lowell suggested and both he and James took one of Adam's arm, hefted him on their shoulders and carried him out of the room.

–

In the evening hours, the Vault is as one expects it to be. Most of the systems are off save for security, basic life support and a skeleton crew of lights. Rat had taken on a habit of curling up next to Mina in her sleep, something the adolescent found amusing. Adam was obviously out cold while Francis, having spent so long sleeping on his chair in the shack, simply was slumped back in the chair watching over the decryption computer. Carl always slept like a rock while Sven could be unpredictable. It was generally believed that he slept at night. Maybe. Meanwhile, James rested in his sleep while Julia silently curled up next to him, her head resting on his shoulder though she found she could not quite go to sleep.

There was that unwritten rule that you should never contemplate the world of the post Great War too long. You'll then start to despair at the state of man. What kind of world required broken men, their lives scarred with endless hurts, tragic memories that haunt their dreams, to continue to burn their sanity away trying to fight the horrors of the wastes? What kind of world made children grow up before they were four if it had not killed them before then? What kind of world allowed evil tyrants and warlords to subjugate and torture what few people were left fighting to live and so easily snuff out precious lives that could not so easily be replaced?

Is this the world where man so shortsightedly said he wished to bathe the world in atomic fire and God simply shrugged and said, since He had given Man free will, "Very well, thy will be done?"

She suddenly heard screaming. Both she and her husband bolted to action.

James grabbed his short blade and a plasma pistol, motioning to Julia to stay hunkered down and protect Isaac. Julia shakily clutched her other pistol while cradling Isaac, watching as James silently slipped out the door.

The screaming continued though now it was turning into tormented cries. It was coming from where Mina was staying. Moving quickly but silently, James saw Sven approaching which his pump action shotgun. Seeing each other, they nodded and moved at a faster pace towards Mina's direction.

Stumbling through the stupor of his hangover though forcing himself through the pain, Adam focused his eyes as he held onto a knife and his submachine gun. He soon found Carl approaching with his hammer and new crossbow. The men converging on each other, they moved rapidly to Mina's room.

"The Vault is secure, what is she screaming about?" James asked as they neared the room.

"We'll find out." Carl said.

"The voices in my head says this can't be good." Sven announced.

"My head tells me it hates everything." Adam groaned.

The men arrived to see Lowell dash into Mina's room as Francis also approached but stood tentatively outside the doorway. Still unsure of what was going on, the four men stuck their heads through the doorway. They were greeted by a rather unexpected sight.

Huddled in the corner was Rat, his front paws almost seemed helplessly clasped together as his beady eyes reflected both shock and a bit of sadness. None of the men suspected any wrong on his part, after a year they had learned the rodent was incapable of doing anything mean spirited.

Regardless, Mina was clutching Lowell, sobbing hysterically. The men glanced at each other, puzzled and unsure. Noticing them, Rat cautiously scampered up to them and sat next to Carl's leg though the rodent still cast a helpless glance at Mina.

"Shh, it's all right, kiddo." Lowell whispered to Mina though it proved to do little to comfort her. The adolescent continued to pour tears onto his shoulder. Lowell glanced at the men and then waved them off.

"She's okay." Lowell muttered. Again casting skeptical glances at each other, but still at a lost with what to do, the men all walked off one by one, rat forlornly following James back to his room.

"It's all right, Mina. It's all right." Lowell continued to whisper.

–

Sven wandered back to his room deep in thought. He had his moments of sanity and psychosis, occasionally rapidly switching between the two if not melding them together. Regardless, he understood that the two new people were in need of help. No one should have their sleep punctured like that.

What did he do when he was sad?

"Okay, Sven, not everyone appreciates an explosion like you do." Sven muttered to himself. However, a light did go on behind his eyes. Silently slipping into his room, he grabbed a handful of grenades and dropped them into a pouch before scribbling a note to join the explosives.

"Laughter in shrapnel form. And helpful!" Sven wrote on the note. His eyes then fell on one of the many zippo lighters he had in his collection. This too also was placed in a separate pouch with its adjoining note.

"It's shiny! And it makes fire!"

The pyromaniac slipped out of his room and through the halls. He then found what he was looking for. The bag of grenades was slipped into Lowell's pack. The lighter found its way into Mina's possession.

The voices in his head told him things should be okay now as he stumbled back to bed.

–

The next morning, everyone had made it into the mess hall, Lowell stumbling in looking a bit haggard from the lack of sleep. He glanced everyone over, putting up a brave effort to look like he wasn't tired.

"Morning all." he greeted, rubbing his eyes.

"Care to tell us what that was all about last night?" Adam asked, still fighting through the haze of a hang over. Lowell let out a sigh, found an empty chair and sat down. Everyone from the Liberators to Francis waited for an explanation.

"When I was in the Capital Wasteland, there was a ridiculous amount of cannibals there. Many of them disguised themselves a hunters. Mina was one of those victims. They killed her mother when she was only six, and they would've killed her too," Lowell then sighed deeply before he finished.

"If she hadn't been rescued." he ended.

"By you?" Julia asked.

"No, not by me. By another guy. I can't remember what his name was. But he rescued her, took her in and raised her. I found her and took her off his hands nine years later." Lowell answered

"So the nightmares...?" James trailed off.

"She's still scared of what would've happened if he hadn't shown up. Those sick bastards tend to skin and eat their victims, _while _they're still alive." Lowell explained before popping a cigarette into his mouth. The others simply let the information set in.

"You ever think about quitting that?" Julia asked. James smirked. His wife just could not abide unhealthy addictions. Lowell blinked at her.

"What? And be boring?" Lowell asked. Adam laughed.

"Hah, and what about your lifestyle do you find boring, Lowell?" Adam asked. The man just shrugged.

"And whatever happened to her father?" Julia inquired.

"Hopefully lying in a ditch." Lowell muttered.

–

Rat crept through the hallway before slipping unseen into Mina's darkened room. His ears twitched as he heard a few sniffles. The rodent understood that particular sound, it was usually how humans expressed sorrow or in some cases fright. Rat found this unacceptable. The rodent simply sat next to her and groomed his whiskers a moment before waiting quietly, his beady eyes watching the light. He felt Mina stroking his head.

"Thank you." said quietly. Rat glanced up at her before sniffing around. When your vocabulary is limited to squeaks, chirps, chittering and yips, you tend to be a mammal of few words.

"Can you keep a secret?" Mina asked quietly, wiping the last of the water out of her eyes. Rat looked up at her and tilted his head curiously.

"_Squeak_?"

–

Lowell and Adam were trading an argument. What had started with Adam trying to convince his friend to stay turned into a mildly heated discussion. Adam understood he may have hit an exposed nerve that he had not seen in his friend before, perhaps it developed after his fighting in Albany and in the DC area.

"I've seen leaders like you before Adam, they're so determined to keep their men alive when in fact they'll out live them. Know why?" Lowell demanded. Adam decided to hear his friend out and shook his head.

"Because they did not make the right choice." Lowell answered himself. Adam stared at him.

"Choice?" Adam demanded.

"Kid, there'll come a time, when you'll be faced with a decision; do you hold them back; or do you accomplish the objective, and be willing to sacrifice one if not all of your men?" Lowell interrogated

"What?" Adam asked, still not sure what the point of this was.

"Adam, if one fights for the greater good, then he must be ready to make the ultimate sacrifice, either for himself or the men that follow him, in a moment's notice. You're not capable of either." Lowell explained. Adam glared at him, as if hit across the face.

"Oh? And you think you are?" Adam shot.

"Yes." Lowell answered flatly and gathered his belongings. Adam continued to glare at him.

"You know why I'm done fighting for the good of the wastes, and only for my own survival?" Lowell asked, turning around. Adam did not answer him.

"Because I woke up. There is nothing left fighting for, except your own life. I had to learn that the hard way." Lowell answered and made his exit. Adam fumed for a moment before driving his fist down on a table. His quietly cursed Lowell under his breath. He understood his friend had fought as a soldier, waged war on the field of battle with different tactics. However, Adam also knew that he and his men fought their own kind of war. Heck, he did not understand what his friend was talking about at this point. Adam let his memories return to a night in New York nearly a year ago, when he and the recently deemed Liberators fought some ungodly thing from underground. His suspicions were only confirmed that night that he and his men would gladly give their lives for each other. Heck, they nearly did. His memory also fell on a cross they erected in that very square, remembering a certain, precious soul whose name was inscribed on that marker.

"Evelyn." Adam whispered. Adam let the anger within him simmer down. Sure, he could have agreed with Lowell on some occasions but that name just would not let him go all the way. If there was anything he learned from that little girl, it was that yes, there were some things still worth fighting for out there.

Perhaps another bottle of scotch would help him agree with her more.

--

Carl had to make sure his metal armor was restored to working conditions while his electron charge pack was kept to its highest charge. He also made sure to get a few spare cells for the road. Sven, aside from making sure the heat resistant padding under his duster was in good order, had incinerator fuel to mix, both quick and slow burning materials depending on the situation, as well as extra explosives and missiles. His dual missile and mini-nuke launcher needed to be maintained as well. Between James and Julia, medicines and other supplies had to be gathered as well as microfusion cells for their weapons. James also had the metal bolts to forge for his rail rifle. The ceramic plates and ballistic padding for their specific armors had to be taken care of as well.

Francis continued to watch the information decrypt and restored on the computer. When the information streaming by did not interest him, he found a book to read from the library. Rat meanwhile went about his usual schedule of wandering and exploring the vault, forever up to something though no one ever really knew what it was.

Francis rapidly exited the room with a rolled parchment under his arm. Walking fast, the old regulator barged into Adam's room where the former assassin was still waiting through the never receding fog of his hangover. He was having way too many of these in one time.

"Adam, I finally have the maps." Francis announced, dropping the paper in front of him, displaying a large diagram of the state of former New York and the Hudson River. Adam blinked blearily at the map.

"...So...good...?" Adam asked groggily. Francis rolled his eyes and and dropped a nearby cup of water on the hungover man.

"I need you to be functional, grunt." Francis grumbled. Adam shook his head and forced himself to focus.

"Okay, great, what do you want me to do?" Adam asked. Francis ran his finger along the appropriate areas of the river.

"Head north. A short distance from here on the western shore is the Catskill mountains. James used to have a circuit there, see what is happening there as my regulator team there has stopped responding. Move further north, keeping track of all the settlements and towns as well as what problems are there and their populations so I know how many regulators to send to the appropriate area. Also, check the Mohawk. Carl used to live there, so he can be helpful. Do not get back here until you've gone the whole length of the Hudson." Francis explained. Adam slowly nodded.

"When I asked you what to do if I ran into anything I did not know about, you handed me a Bible, I ended up fighting a giant, carnivorous ooze. Now, I'll ask you what what do I do if I run into some trouble out there and get stuck?" Adam inquired. Francis paused before brushing the map closer to Adam.

"Take the map." Francis said and left.

–

It was almost midday the day after and the Liberators, plus Rat, waited by the river bank of the Hudson. In the brightness of the almost noon sun, the men would have probably been an intimidating sight to behold. Clearly they were armed to the teeth, set and ready. Adam appeared the least intimidating out of all of them, the sun reflecting off of his golden hair and goatee, only the tip of his Chinese longsword peeking from under his duster while his coat hid an arsenal of knives. Carl's long coat did little to hide the imposing metal armor he wore, the handle of his supersledge gleamed behind his metal helmet, the gun mechanism of his gatling laser reflecting the sunlight.

Apparently the most encumbered, Sven's ammo and fuel bag hung next to the dual launcher he carried, his face hidden behind a blast helmet with an improvised breathing mask built into it. James and Julia both had a satchel bag hanging on their shoulder filled with medical supplies and microfusion cells for their energy weapons. Julia's plasma rifle hung on her back, contrasted with James' rail rifle. Juxtaposed in the whole scene was Isaac who Julia cradled in her arms while James examined the edge of his short blade one last time.

All of them had the "L" insignia stitched to the side of their right shoulders.

Rat squeaked in announcement of the approaching _Half Moon_. The Liberators looked up to see Ibrahim, Saffron and Alexandra waiting on the bow. Adam was able to detect a faint smirk on Alexandra's face. He called to her as they lowered the rope to help them on board.

"So what are you smiling about?" Adam asked.

"While I was in the city, I figured if I had to work with the Liberators, I might as well make sure my ship was equipped properly." Alexandra explained.

"Wait, what did you do to the _Half Moon_?" Adam asked.

"You'll see. Besides, part of their payment is coming out of your wallet." Alexandra retorted. Adam scowled at her.

"Whatever you say, Alex." Adam sneered, knowing she hated it when he abbreviated her name.

"Keep it up, I'll just increase the cost."

* * *

_Author's note: The plot line for Fallen Angels and Half Moon will diverge, at least for a bit, from here. _


	11. Chapter 11

"_One who is in a dying condition is regarded as a living person in all respects."_

_-Rabbi Maimonides_

* * *

Mark went over in his mind why he was in this situation one last time. It was night and he stared through a decrepit window sill with his Chinese assault rifle ready. A new moon cast only a little light on the empty streets. He was waiting for a Hunter raiding party.

See, last night when he, Norad and Cindy got surrounded, they found out they had stumbled in on the "good guys."

_"Are you regulators?" the nearest man asked, wearing tattered clothes and a worn looking hunting rifle. Cindy and Mark cast their eyes and got a better look at the people surrounding them. They all looked like they were in a sorry state. They also looked desperate. Mark lowered his rifle a bit, but only a bit. _

_ "...Yes..." Mark said carefully. The apparently leader walked up to him and shook his hand. _

_ "My name is Kurt. We're the Neighbors, but I really have to urge you to get out of the streets. It's not safe to be out in the open here at night." Kurt explained, his eyes still darting as if looking for imminent danger. _

_ "Why? What are you afraid of?" Cindy asked. _

_ "The Hunters." _

_ "The who?" Mark inquired. _

_ "Get out of the streets, go into the buildings. I'll explain in the morning." Kurt said as he and the Neighbors disappeared back into the ruined buildings. Mark and his team quickly followed after Kurt. _

_ Just as the morning sun was starting to rise, the people called the "Neighbors" slowly filed out of the streets and made themselves at home in the open roadways. The people appeared pleasant though there was definite tension in the air. There was a faint rush or abruptness with what they did, always looking behind their back. _

_ "So who are these 'Hunters,'Kurt?" Mark asked. _

_ "Several years ago, the people living together who were not of us wondered how they could prevent another Great War where the bombs fell, how to keep themselves safe from the new dangers, you get the idea, is there anything they could do to stay alive? Their thoughts turned to the religious so eventually they did their research trying to find a god to please. They found an old history book citing the religious practices of an ancient people called the 'Aztecs.'" Kurt explained. Mark frowned. _

_ "Not familiar with them." Mark explained. _

_ "You will be. See, the Aztecs believed you had to sacrifice people to keep the gods happy, so that's what the Hunters started to do, going out to hunt people to sacrifice them at night. They tear their hearts out of them while they're still alive. We tried to move and run away but they followed us. Eventually, we realized we could not outrun them so we started to live with them, so to speak. We don't make cooking fires, we don't have permanent dwellings. We move after so many weeks. Still, every now and then they find one of us." Kurt explained. Mark stared at him appalled. _

_ "Why don't you just leave Queens?" Mark asked. Kurt stared at him. _

_ "Is that what they call this place? No one told me. Either way, it's our home. Besides, weren't you guys crazy enough to cross the bridge?" Kurt asked incredulously. Mark sighed. _

So now they were waiting at night like all the others, the people broken up into watch teams to keep vigil throughout the night. Mark had also heard that the Hunters liked to use stealth boys whenever they could acquire them. As could be imagined, the Neighbors did everything they could to minimize any signs of human life. No fires were made, and if they did make cooking fires, the embers and ash were thrown down the sewers along with whatever wastes they made, including excrement in hopes of keeping it out of sight.

Kurt still told them it often was not good enough. How many years of living like this did they endure?

Cindy pondered the same thoughts in contrast to her old life. How many raids had her old gang conducted against innocent people like this? Then again, who was innocent out in the wastes? Even her old gang lived in fear of other gangs and avoided them with the same gusto.

The thoughts were shattered when they heard a high pitch scream. Everyone sprang into action.

Mark scanned the area below him before he spotted several retreating figures, a hysterically screaming woman from the Neighbors being roughly carried by two men. There was a kind of savagery in the way the Hunters conducted themselves. Mark fired his rifle and was certain he saw the lighted rounds slam into one of the men. They kept running. Cindy and Norad were able to get out of the building they were in just as the Hunters disappeared.

"We have to go after them!" Cindy yelled. Mark agreed.

"Come on, we can still catch them!" the regulator leader said. The Neighbors stared at them wide eyed.

"No. There's always more of them. We'll just get killed." one of the Neighbors said. Kurt shook his head sadly.

"She's good as gone. No one ever lives after being captured by them." Kurt stated. Mark and Cindy glanced at each other before looking at Norad. The robot fired up its weapons.

"More glory for us then! Sound the trumpets, here comes the cavalry!" Norad announced.

The Neighbors watched dumbfounded as the two intrepid regulators and the patriotic robot charged into the night.

–

Evening on the _Half Moon_ was a rather relaxing time. Isaac was already asleep and even Alexandra dropped in on the rest of the crew lounging in the mess room. Carl was finishing up putting the kitchen to his liking after Saffron sort of reprogrammed it. Ibrahim and Sufia kept to their own side but paid attention to the rest of the group. Jared, ever the recluse, simply sat in the corner and scowled.

"Oh hey, I stocked up on some of these mutfruits and other tangy things and even more exciting, I found some recipes for cocktails. Anyone want some?" Saffron ordered.

"I'll just have a plain scotch." Adam ordered.

"Beer." Jared grunted. Sufia, Ibrahim, Julia and James all simply wanted water.

"What about you, Sven?" Saffron asked.

"You said you could make cocktails?" Sven inquired.

"Yes, would you like to try one?" Saffron asked, sounding excited to finally be able to try making a recipe. The regulator thought for a moment.

"Sure." Sven agreed.

"What would you like?"

"I'll have a Molotov cocktail please." Sven ordered. Saffron paused, a little unsure.

"I'm sorry, I-I don't know how to make those." Saffron admitted. Sven looked at her as if she had confessed to not breathing her whole life.

"But those are the best kind of cocktails ever! How could you not know how to make them? You just need some fuel, kerosene, gas, turpentine or alcohol if you're desperate, put them in a bottle, get a rag and lighter, toss, laugh and repeat." Sven explained. Saffron looked at him like one pitying a person with a debilitating illness.

"I...um...I'll, see what I have downstairs. How many would you like?" Saffron asked.

"I'll take three, please." Sven said and tossed her a handful of caps.

"So...are all of you the famous Liberators?" Sufia asked quietly. None of the regulators looked up.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Adam asked carefully.

"There are many stories about the Liberators who did many great things in the city. They say that four of them destroyed the slaver establishment called the Wall and that they participate in the battle of the Three Armies where the Super Mutants were driven from the city. They also say they destroyed a great creature that threatened to consume all in the city. I am confused, though. They said there was four of the Liberators. There are five of you, but you all wear the 'L' on your sleeves. What does this signify?" Sufia spoke.

"Yeah...we're the Liberators." Carl said while sternly shooing Rat out of the pantries. The rodent scampered up and sat in Julia's lap instead.

"I did not fight with them per se, but I helped them out. I did not join them till later." Julia admitted, explaining the situation.

"I see...so are most of the stories true then?" Sufia asked. Ibrahim scowled at her.

"Sister, you should not bother them."

"I'm not bothering them, Ibrahim. I just want to hear a few stories from them, hear the truth for myself." Adam took a swig of his scotch before answering.

"I don't know what stories you heard. If they're saying we're a bunch of heroic supermen, then they're wrong. We're just a bunch of regular guys who got caught in circumstances bigger than ourselves." Adam shrugged.

"And we were stupid enough to go through with them." James added. They glanced over at Sven who lit up with the sight of three Molotov cocktails Saffron gave him before promptly stashing them away.

"...Plus some may say we're a little out of our minds...some of us more than others." Adam said.

"Are these stories too painful for you?" Sufia asked. Julia raised a finger.

"No, they're just shy about it. I practically had to drag the stories out of my husband here." Julia explained, glancing at James. The man just shrugged.

"Surely, there is one that isn't too dark." Sufia stated, ignoring Ibrahim who was scowling at her again.

"...Well, there was that one time when we first started working together." James said thoughtfully. The other groaned.

"Oh man, you mean that very first battle we had?" Carl asked. James nodded carefully.

"Ugh...we darn near killed each other." Adam sighed.

"What? How come I never heard of this?" Julia demanded.

"Eh..." James let out. Julia looked at Sven.

"Sven, you have something to say about this?" the scribe asked.

"Should have brought more napalm to that one. And grenades." Sven stated. Adam sighed.

"All right, all right. I remember it just like it was yesterday..." the regulator leader started.

–

_The four men had remained in relative silence, all of them used to working on their own. Having read the Bible that Francis gave them on the way, James slipped it inside his duster, his intuition telling him that they were about to step into a situation that could be mildly compromising to their safety. Just beyond the trees was the beckoning outline of the city and its buildings. Adam cleared his throat. _

_ "Well...looks like we're almost there." Adam declared, the men stepping near the rotted hull of an ancient house. Close by, James could make out the remains of a larger building. All of them were making large sweeps with their eyes, the many skeletons of bare trees creating an eerie scene. _

_ No one noticed when James got on his knee and started scanning the building ahead of them. In fact, that was before he had developed the habit of sticking a cautionary hand out. _

_ He had contacts through his scope. Several raiders in fact, all of them watching on the roof. _

_ "Carl..." James warned. _

_ "What's that?" the big man asked, turning around. _

_ "Careful, there are snipers on the roof." James explained, trying to get a clear shot on one. Suddenly, a gunshot rang out and bounced off of the back of Carl's metal armor. Sven and Adam cleared the area. _

_ "Where?" Carl demanded, spinning around while warming up his minigun, completely shrugging off the round he absorbed. _

_ "The roof!" James hollered. Meanwhile, Adam shrouded himself in a stealth boy and started rushing ahead. None of them noticed. _

_ "I don't-" Carl stopped when he saw a muzzle flash followed by the movement of the raider reloading. Not to mention another round bounced off his armor under his duster. _

_ "Got em!" Carl announced and started spraying bullets. James gritted his teeth as the raiders immediately scattered, throwing off his shot. _

_ "Darn it." James growled under his breath. The big man had scared the fish. _

_ What they did not know was that they had just run right into the largest gang New York City had at the time. The gang numbers made them comparable with a private army. _

_ Adam barely had time to dive when he noticed Carl level out his rounds and nearly shot him down. Since the giant could not see him, he just simply started blazing away at all the raiders rushing out to fight them. Extremely thrown off, Adam was not sure whether to thank the big man for being able to hold off so many raiders or curse him for nearly shooting him in half. _

_ He went with the later but vented his anger by firing off silence rounds into incoming raiders. _

_ Sven meanwhile got excited with the sight of all the raiders, so many of them rushing towards him. So much chaff to be incinerated, so much evil to be put to the fire. _

_ "Sven, stop, I can't see through the smoke!" James yelled, his vision unused to trying to decipher targets through the hail of minigun rounds as well as inky smoke from Sven's flamer. _

_ The pyromaniac did not hear the sniper. James at least busied himself with clearing off the rest of the raider marksmen on the roof but he could detect more coming. _

_The battle raged on for hours, Car's minigun never once stopping except only to reload and even then, they could see the barrels starting to glow with a faint red. Adam felt more or less indifferent, only able to spray rounds with his SMG or throw a knife at any raiders who were lucky enough to evade all the other rounds on their charge towards them. James eventually had to give up using the precious railroad spikes he had at the time and resorted to his laser rifle. Sven dropped burning napalm where appropriate but also fired missiles when needed and the occasional thrown grenade with all the proficiency of a softball pitcher. _

_ "Why won't they stop?! How many of them are there!?" James yelled over the noise of battle, vaporizing the heads of two unfortunate raiders in rapid succession._

_ "If they keep coming at this rate, I don't want to see what the rest of the city has to hold!" Adam yelled. They looked over just in time to see Sven spot a group of raiders trying to flank them and were immediately blanketed in a fatal cloud of burning fuel. They were even more appalled to hear Sven's laughter over the raiders' anguished screams. _

_ "He's a psycho all right, nothing slight about it." Adam murmured. His attention was brought back to the incessant noise from James' and Carl's firearms. _

_ "Can't you idiots fight quietly!? There's no way I can execute any of them in all this noise, much less sneak around!" Adam screamed. _

_ "Only if you and Carl didn't spray so much ammo so I could get a proper fix on these targets..." James sent back. Carl did not hear them. Sven meanwhile was laughing manically. Adam decided he was going to have to talk to the pyromaniac after this. _

_ Suddenly, Carl's field clearer fell deathly silent. _

_ "Uh oh..." the giant concluded. Adam glared at him. _

_ "What do you mean 'uh oh?'" Adam demanded. _

_ "Out of ammo." Carl explained. James and Adam looked back in the direction the raiders were coming from, a good many of them could be seen approaching. Apparently, all the hostiles with firearms, or at least most of them, had gone on first and were systematically eliminated. That left only the raiders with melee weapons. There was still enough of the raiders out there to overwhelm them. With Carl's gun silent, there was little to hold them at bay. _

_ "Keep clear of me boys." Carl said, returning the gun into its former place. Adam and James looked at him with inquisitive glances as Sven watched his flamer let out a belch of noxious, black smoke. The pyro grumbled at the sign that he was out of fuel. _

_ "It's hammer time!" Carl announced as the first new wave of raiders appeared. _

_ "Oh crud..." James murmured, pulling out both his short blade and sawed off shotgun. Adam returned his firearms and calmed himself. Now he was in his element. They lightly heard Sven chamber a round in his pump action shotgun. _

_ What followed was many long, grueling minutes as the men, save for Sven who was blessed with a shotgun, fought in hand to hand combat. On several occasions Carl nearly brained Adam and James on his back swing, once again none of them used to working closely with others. On several occasions it was only the quick thinking of the two regulators using raiders as human shields to prevent themselves from getting inadvertently brained or otherwise mauled by Carl's swinging hammer. With that sledgehammer, Carl was a whirling tempest. _

_ "...How...how many of them...are there?" James panted, having returned his sawed off shotgun to his hip as useless and unwieldy in the situation. The men were running out of steam. _

_ "I seriously never suspected this many of them. Have we stumbled upon an army?" Adam asked rhetorically. _

_ "Shoulda brought a nuke." Sven muttered, suddenly realizing he was now running on his last six shells. _

_ "Got to keep up, boys, we got to keep up..." Carl murmured, forcing himself not to start leaning on his hammer. _

_ They heard pistol fire and watched as Carl suddenly stumbled and fell. _

_ "Rrrrggghhh, my knee!" Carl bellowed, clutching a bloody wound. Before Sven could react, several more rounds sounded and they saw holes popping across Sven's duster before he fell to the ground. Adam glanced over and saw a desperate raider with a rather inconsequential looking pistol. Adam reacted quickly and threw a knife at the man, quickly ending their tormentor. Adam took in a breath. _

_ "Well, I think that's-" _

_ Adam felt something slam into his stomach and he promptly collapsed on his back. As his vision was suddenly filled with the sky, he found James looking over him. The medic was fumbling into his bag as he said something. _

_ "There is no way I'm going to be able to carry-" _

_ Adam watched as a hole materialized on James' shoulder, fragments of his armor flying through the air as the man also fell onto the ground. Amazing, they had not even made it into the city and Adam suddenly realized his career as a regulator had come to a screeching halt. _

_ Forcing himself to look around, he saw a lone raider, apparently the last one, brandishing a revolver. Adam weakly reached into his coat, fumbling for a knife. His heart sank when he noticed that the raider had seen him, originally looking like he was going to put a still tormented Carl out of his misery. _

_ Adam stared blankly as he found himself staring down the barrel of a loaded revolver. _

_ A shot rang out and the raider appeared to get ripped in half. Falling back on his spine, Adam looked over to see Sven sitting up, his shotgun smoking from the discharge of his last round of buckshot. Gathering his strength, he noticed Carl raise himself to a shaky stand. _

_ "Hey...we're not dead, right?" the giant asked. _

_ "I shoulda brought more bombs. I need to buy a mini-nuke. Lots of mini-nukes." Sven rambled. James suddenly was in their midst again. _

_ "Stupid, shoulder flesh wound. Who would have thought it would feel like getting your arm hacked off? Come on, we got to get out of here." James encouraged, looking over Sven and Adam. He did a quick glance at Carl. _

_ "All right big guy, I'm going to bind your knee as a temporary patch up, but you're going to have to help me carry Sven and Adam. I can stabilize them but their wounds are too severe for me to treat here. We need to hurry." James instructed. _

_ "Why's that?" Carl asked. _

_ "What's that burning I smell?" Adam asked. _

_ "Exactly, all those fires Sven started is started to build up now. The fires are getting closer to us." James explained. Adam decided he was really going to have to talk to Sven after this. _

_ Narrowly escaping getting burned to death, the men made a quick walk further east. Finding a cave on a hillside only a short distance from the battle, they decided to take up shelter there for the night. _

_ It was there that they found a Vault door terminal. _


	12. Chapter 12

"_If you are wronged, do not commit wrong doing to others."_

_-Muhammad al-Baqir_

_

* * *

  
_

Mark, Cindy and Norad rushed at a feverish pace through the streets of Queens, blindly going down the path they were certain the Hunters took the abducted woman. The screams were becoming less and less distinct. They were also rather concerned with what Kurt had said about other Hunters being in the area.

"Contacts to the left, three hostiles!" Norad reported. They saw three shadows approaching from one of the abandoned houses, the familiar shapes of weapons clutched where their arms and hands would be.

"I got this." Cindy growled and fired a lit dynamite arrow from her launcher. The explosive impaled the middle hostile and before they could start firing on them or react, the resulting explosion took out all three of them.

"Good work." Mark said quickly, continuing to rush.

"Thank you, T-N-T!" Norad crackled.

The path ahead was not uneventful.

"Multiple contacts converging on our location. Hostile contacts at thirteen and counting." Norad reported.

"Is that woman among them?" Mark asked, readying his Chinese assault rifle."

"Negatory!" the Mr. Gutsy boomed.

"Lock and load, kill em all." Mark stated coldly.

"With pleasure." Cindy stated.

"Swift and indiscriminate justice, made in the good ol' U.S of A!" Norad spouted.

Surrounded, the group of three fired into the night, the flashes of gunfire puncturing the darkness.

–

The _Half Moon_ pulled up to the proper location and let down the rope. Before anyone could scold him not to, Rat leaped over the side and swam to the shore, eagerly waiting for the rest of the Liberators to make it. Eventually they all made it, Adam was the last and lingered in the shallows to call back to Alexandra as Julia made sure the radio equipment was functioning properly.

"We'll keep you posted over the radio. If it goes silent for too long, just figure we're in a bad time and we'll meet you upriver at the first stop." Adam called.

"That's assuming you make it alive." Alexandra yelled back.

"It isn't good for you to start assuming otherwise." Adam replied.

"You have a day, Liberator. After that, I'm picking up anchor no matter how alive you are." Alexandra warned. Adam simply waved and marched onto the shore.

"I swear I hope she gives birth to something twice as annoying as her." Adam grumbled, surveying the hardened, unhealthy and bare trees that crowded the hilly land and mountains that were before him. He looked over to James who was staring at the place as if in a kind of shell shock.

"Well, you know this place better than anyone, James. You want to lead the way?" Adam offered. James surveyed what was left of the post apocalypse Catskill Mountains.

"Its been awhile." James muttered before trudging forward. The group quietly followed him.

–

Mark glared down sights of his Chinese Assault rifle. They were getting close. He only prayed they were not too late. He and Cindy reeked of gunpowder and sulfur. Their dusters were also speckled with blood. Getting surrounded turned pretty intense but they were able to get out of it, mostly due to Cindy's dynamite launcher. Norad was still revving up his circular blade saw. The robot found its edges still too clogged with flesh. The flying blood was giving it a morbid paint job.

"I think we're getting closer, but where the heck did they take her?" Mark muttered, sweeping with his weapon. All he kept seeing were dark streets and more shadows. They had certainly wandered far.

"Um...Mark...?" Cindy sputtered.

"What? Help me look." Mark demanded.

"I think I found them..." Cindy gulped and pointed out the proper direction to Mark. The regulator stared ahead of him. He could not believe what he saw.

The Hunters had heaped a large pile of rubbish over the ruins of several old houses so that it jutted higher than most of the buildings around it. A hellish pathway of skulls and discarded bones led to the top of the heap where an altar constructed of more bones offered the prone form of a woman, a Hunter holding her down while the other raised a knife high into the sky. They could tell she was struggling desperately. Mark shouldered his rifle quickly and lined up his target sights.

"Mark, I don't think that thing is accurate at the range we're in!" Cindy warned.

"Pray that with all the maintaining I've done, this rifle better be more accurate than most of the typical ones you've seen." Mark muttered.

He squeezed the trigger.

–

There were stories that the Catskills were once a beautiful place, rolling mountains covered in healthy green foliage with more than one tall tale or legend that was buried in the sleepy hills. James remembered one story, once again when the Americans were fighting their war of independence, where a bunch of patriots engaged a line of more of the King's mercenaries. After firing off a determined volley of muskets, they waited for the smoke to clear only to find the line of Hessian troops dead or dying with the exception of the drummer boy running over the hills. The patriots gave chase, trying to find the drummer boy but in the end they never did find him.

They say that on some nights, you can hear the Hessian drummer boy playing on the drums.

Sven was used to seeing ruined buildings and worn concrete and asphalt. These endless, bare trees and ground studded with pebbles was very different. The pyromaniac saw too many things that could easily go up in flames. Fire was good but he also understood that it could very well backfire. There were just too many flammable objects.

"So where are you taking us, James?" Sven asked.

"I got to make a quick stop here." James explained.

"Where's here?" Carl inquired.

"Here." James stated and they quite abruptly stepped out of the tree line and were confronted with a sizable stone wall with a corroded iron gate.

"Hey Fredrick, you still back there?" James called. They heard a shuffling behind the iron gate and saw a shadow shift through a crack in the gate, two eyes glaring down at them.

"...James, is that you?" the man asked incredulously.

"Sure is, don't tell me I aged that much." James chuckled.

"Well, I can't say you did that much seeing we're the same age and I hope the years were kinder on me than they have apparently been on you. It's been awhile, what brings you back?" Fredrick asked through the gate.

"Could you just let us in and I could explain that properly?" James sighed with a smile.

"Oh, right you are! Hold on..." Fredrick explained and swung the gates open.

"Well, welcome to Bluestone." Fredrick greeted.

–

Bluestone was the little village James grew up in. Apparently, they had reinforced the stone walls in James' absence though the quiet town did not seemed to have changed too much. Regardless, the people had gotten older. James found it rather sad that he did not see too many new faces though the children he had known had all gotten older. He really hoped that his hometown would not die out.

His childhood friend, Fredrick, was a thin but spry man who looked like he knew his way around the lever action rifle he kept on him at all times. A bit taller than James, the two chatted for a bit.

"I see you made a few more regulator friends, though last I checked, 'Regulator' started with an 'R' not 'L.'" Fredrick teased, motioning towards their insignias.

"It stands for something else." James explained quickly as they walked into the town commons. While he and Fredrick caught up, the others stared in quiet respect of the stone dwellings that the people had thrown together. They looked a little more difficult to erect but those stone buildings certainly seemed to be more sturdy than most dwellings they had seen.

"Wait, wait, wait...you mean to tell me that mole cleaving kid I knew is now one of the Liberators?" Fredrick demanded in surprise. James rubbed his head nervously.

"Fredrick, these are my friends, Adam, Sven, Carl and this is my wife, Julia." James introduced, rubbing Julia's back. They also heard an indignant squeak.

"Oh yes, and Rat...our...mascot." James explained sheepishly. The rodent stood on his hind legs, sniffing the air curiously.

"You've certainly come a long way, James. Bluestone is still kicking and screaming. We manage to keep the population going somehow though I don't know how long that will last." Fredrick stated nervously.

"What about my family?" James asked.

"Haha, your grandparents are still around and still find the wit to harass us. Your brother runs with the merchant groups, he's doing well for himself. Your mother still runs the barbeque pit."

"Your failure to mention my father means that he probably passed on." James stated quietly.

"Yes, I'm sorry." Fredrick apologized. James just bowed his head, crossed himself and looked back at his friend.

"...Well, it will be most rude of my not to greet my family. We'll be staying here for a day so maybe I'll see you one last time before I leave." James said.

"Hold on a moment..." Julia instructed and started speaking into her radio. The others looked over at her in curiosity.

"Liberators to _Half Moon_, do you read us, over?" Julia asked. They were greeted by Alexandra's voice. Meanwhile, Fredrick cast a surprised glance at his childhood friend. So James really was one of those famous Liberators.

"I don't much care for formalities. What do you want?" Alexandra demanded. Julia rolled her eyes.

"Hi, we've kind of run into a delay. You want to head on without us, where is the next stop upriver and would you mind doing business up there for awhile?" Julia asked. The Liberators all glanced at each other.

"Clever girl." Carl mumbled.

"Sounds good. Kingston is about a day's journey upriver on foot. It will be more productive of us to wait over there for you guys than here. We'll lift anchor now, see you guys." Alexandra stated.

"There, more time for you and your family." Julia announced to her husband. Fredrick started laughing.

"Hahaha, James, I'm so happy you found a nice girl. There were times I thought you were such an idiot in such matters you would be better off single all your life." Fredrick cackled. James marched off towards the direction of his family's homestead, his crimson face a strong contrast to his dark glasses and olive clothing.

–

Kurt and the rest of the Neighbors waited, watching in the direction the regulators had disappeared that night. The dawn's rays were starting to appear in the sky, casting a pale orange and hopeful yellow on the scene of ruined buildings. Still, it was more than they could have hoped for. Kurt sighed in dejection.

"Sir, I think I see something!" one of the men reported. Kurt strained his eyes and looked through the light that irritated his eyes a bit. He could not believe what he was seeing.

Norad was hovering back, not a speck of army green to be seen on the robot but a grotesque paint job of crusted blood. Mark and Cindy looked the worse for the wear yet still wore triumphant smiles.

In their midst was a shaky but very much relieved rescued Neighbor.

The people who had lived under the oppression of fear for so long rejoiced in the new day.

–

Carl, Sven, Julia and Adam were impressed with the hospitality they were shown at the Vanderbraun homestead. Grandfather and grandmother Vanderbraun enjoyed telling stories of James' childhood, much to the regulator's great discomfort. Mother Vanderbraun was an excellent cook, a stout woman who reminded them all of May back at the House. She was especially stern with Rat, suspicious of a rodent that looked similar to mole rats but she treated the rodent with a few snacks so long as he did not wander onto the table or furniture. Rat decided it was a fair deal.

Eventually, they all fell asleep in front of the fireplace. Carl had been reminded of his old home while Adam could not help but feel a little bit jealous. James was certainly lucky to have a family like this, a family he himself did not have. The former assassin smiled a bit as he drifted off to darkness. Perhaps one day he would raise a family like this himself.

Sven was drifting off to happy dreams of setting fire to various things. His equipment stowed to the side, he had finally relaxed when he felt something tap his shoulder while a hand was placed gently over his mouth. James was staring at him, pointed at the quietly sleeping people in front of him and then motioned for Sven to join him outside. He was also only suppose to take his shotgun and light equipment.

Before the pyromaniac knew it, he was following James as they dashed through those creepy dark woods under a full moon that barely penetrated the dark clouds overhead. All he had was his shotgun and several of those Molotov cocktails. James himself only had his laser rifle, shortblade and plasma pistol.

"So why are we doing this? You're starting to make me look normal." Sven asked.

"Got to see something I don't want the others to. I may need your help." James answered abruptly. This the pyro had to see.

Before he knew it, Sven could see through the darkness a large, rundown building that looked like it had been an Inn in better days. James stopped, barely taking a moment to catch his breath as his wide eyes surveyed the place. Truth be told, Sven was convinced the place was abandoned. He watched as James took out his flashlight and held it in his left hand, his shortblade ready in his right.

"Follow me." James ordered quietly. Sven was ready to go barging through the door but suddenly saw James examining several sad looking crosses on the ground, standing right next to the building.

"What?" Sven asked.

"My gosh...is there anyone left?" James muttered desperately before stepping through the doorway quietly. The hallway was covered in shadows and even Sven felt a few chills go down his spine.

"You know this place?" Sven asked, keeping his shotgun shouldered.

"Unfortunately." James whispered.

"I'll watch your back. You lead the way." Sven stated.

Quietly they went down the halls, James silently pushing the doors of the rooms aside with his blade, each revealing nothing, the sad remains of abandoned rooms and furnishings, but nothing. There were not even valuables to salvage. Nothing, absolutely nothing of value.

"We done?" Sven asked. He really wanted to get out of there. James shook his head.

"Upstairs." James said, leading the man upstairs.

They made the trip up the stairs and were greeted by an identical hallway to the one they covered on the bottom floor. James swept his flashlight through the halls. He was greeted by more nothingness.

"Well, it seems like-" James' sentence ended in a strangled gurgle. Sven spun around.

"What's...oh...crap..." Sven saw what was illuminated in James' light.

At the end of the hallway was a large chair still retaining its bulk of rotten cushions. However, sitting in the chair was an extremely pale, sickly woman. Her once blonde hair was matted and looked more like straw, her body barely stuck out in her sweat laden dress. Every inch of her body seemed to be speckled with coin sized spots.

"Great balls of fire...is she still alive?" Sven whispered. James slowly made his way towards the woman. She was vaguely familiar though at this moment he was both hating himself and yet relieved that he never got any of the women names back in the day. James knelt down to get a closer look at the woman. Her breathing was shallow yet desperate.

"Blisters...all full of blood. I've never seen this kind of sickness." James muttered to himself. He squinted to get a better look at her face.

"Lord have mercy, what kind of disease does-"

James and Sven did their best not to lose their heads when the woman's eyes suddenly opened, revealing themselves to be wild, blood red eyes.

"Y-you...came back..." the woman said hoarsely to James. Sven could barely decipher what she was saying. What was she talking about? James took his time answering.

"How long ago did this happen?" James simply asked, becoming the cold, calculating medic.

"...L-less than a week...they-they all died, you know...after you left...after you murdered him..." the woman muttered. James glared at her, refusing to look at Sven.

"Did anyone treat you? How long have you been like this?" James growled through clenched teeth.

"...They all died...one by one, a-after that...We- we were sorry we did that...and y-yet...you should...you should not have...killed him." the woman rambled weakly.

"For the love of heaven, woman! Was there anyone here to take care of you!?" James yelled. Sven glanced at his friend.

"James, have you lost your mind?" Sven demanded. The woman continued to ramble as if in a dream.

"...W-we're sorry...you...you are sorry. W-we held on...m-month ago the caravans...stop coming...red spots came...red spots...alone for so long...all of them buried..."

James was noticeably trembling.

"O-okay...I can fix this...just let me take a few sample, Julia and I can run tests-"

"Nothing can save us now, doctor." the woman interrupted. James glared at her.

"You did not accept my help last time. I'm not letting you die like this." James growled.

Sven felt ice barrel down his back when the skeleton of a woman smiled so broadly, a sickly, blood speckled grin.

"...W-we...were wrong, doc. Go in peace...or burn in hell...but it won't be because...we condemned you...you're too late...go...where your God wills you..."

The two regulators simply watched in horror as the woman slumped over, a trickle of vile blood dripping from her open jaw. James jumped back in fear. For one long minute they stood in the dark, certain they were staring at a corpse.

"What was that about, James?" Sven asked, as sane as James had ever seen him. The medic looked like every single one of his emotions was waging all out war in his body.

"Lets get out of here." James said darkly and trudged out of the building.

Sven let his friend sit at the doorway entrance, stewing in his own thoughts. The pyromaniac did not know what had transpired here but he decided James would not answer that. He could also tell his friend was doing some serious soul wrenching. Unable to wait any longer, Sven walked up to him.

"That book, Bible, it said something about God and a big fire, right?" Sven demanded. James answered numbly.

"God was sometimes described as a consuming fire who burned off all impurities and sins leaving only a pure human." James said. Sven handed him a Molotov cocktail.

"You ain't bad, man...so what say we burn off this stain?" Sven offered. James looked up at him and stood up.

"As crazy as you are...you're a genius sometimes." James told him.

"I'll just stick with crazy." Sven cackled, lighting the rag on the bottle with his lighter and motioning for James to have the honors. The pyro handed him the lit container.

James crossed himself and threw the burning bottle into the building. The glass broke and immolated fuel spilled all over the floor. Very quickly the whole inn was an inferno and shortly thereafter reduced to ashes.

James and Sven returned to the homestead before the dawn arose. The pyromaniac felt a kind of blessing as if he had done a good deed. James, though still feeling a small burden on him, also felt a kind of absolution. Finding Julia asleep on an old couch, he returned to his original spot and sat in front of it, his head resting on the edge of the cushion. No sooner did he start to relax did he feel Julia's hand rub against his chest and hold him closer.

"James...why do you smell like smoke?" Julia asked quietly. James thought for a moment.

"One more sin burned away...one more sin forgiven." James answered before rubbing his artificial arm again as the pain flared up for a moment.


	13. Chapter 13

_It is said to keep your friends close but your enemies closer_

_But who then are your friends?_

_And who are your enemies?_

_Who knows, they may switch roles_

_

* * *

  
_

Mark, Cindy and Norad had just finished crossing the old Queensboro bridge, much relieved to be over the rickety old thing. Stored safely in a storage compartment on Norad was their collection of fingers from the Hunters. At this point, all Cindy and Mark cared for was to get back to the House and trade in their caps at the Caravan Office.

"So what are you going to do with your caps?" Cindy asked, harkening back to an old game she used to play with her fellow raiders. They always used to talk about what they were going to do with their latest plunder, if only to keep their spirits up and further boost their moral. They could have said they were going to buy a GECK and no one would care. It was just about living in the moment. Being happy.

"Stock up on ammo, see if they got anything that might be useful, put the rest in savings." Mark answered quietly, making sure his dual ammo clips were securely fastened together. Cindy cast a quizzical glance at him.

"That's it?" Cindy demanded.

"Yeah, why? What are you going to get?" Mark asked.

"Well, sure, I'm also going to restock on supplies, but I'm also going to get a couple cases of whiskey." Cindy informed. Mark rolled his eyes.

"Okay, I guess a Vodka does sound good." Mark muttered.

"Wow, you go straight for the hard stuff, huh?" Cindy commented.

"Either you stay sober all the way or you drop the hammer hard. No sense going in between." Mark joked.

"I like your style, carbon based lifeform. Give those hydrocarbons what for!" Norad trumpeted. Cindy and Mark stared at him in bewilderment.

"What language was that?" Cindy whispered to Mark.

"Must be some form of English...I think..." Marm murmured.

Looking off to the distance, they could see the familiar outline of a brahmin merchant caravan. They eventually caught up with the friendly merchant who greeted them warmly.

"Hello there, regulators." the merchant called.

"Hi." Mark greeted. Cindy remained silent.

"Where you lawmen coming from?" the merchant asked.

"Queens." Mark answered. The merchant looked at him as if he just shoved a grenade down his throat.

"Q-queens? How'd you guys not get eaten? Did you kill all those people? The Neighbors?" the merchant asked.

"I think you're mistaken. Do you mean the Hunters?" Mark sent back.

"Well, yes, the Hunters sacrifice people but its the Neighbors that _eat_ people." the merchant replied.

"You're lying." Cindy accused flatly.

"If you don't believe me, you ask the boys in the Caravan Office at the House what happened to the last caravan group that was crazy enough to cross the Queensboro bridge."

–

Inevitably, the time finally came up for the Liberators to leave Bluestone. The Vanderbrauns sent them off with all the gusto that a family can, and certainly not before making Julia promise she would doggedly harass James into visiting more often to which she willingly agreed. In the end, James had a serious moment with Fredrick just before the left, letting the others pass through the other side of the gate before he said anything to his old childhood friend.

"Did you hear of a plague or sickness around here?" James asked, still haunted by the images he saw last night in the old brothel.

"Yes. The speckled plague, the red specks, whatever they're calling it, nasty thing. The merchants are getting more jumpy going through here. Even your brother has decided to lay low after he comes back from the run he's on now." Fredrick answered.

"All right, if you start getting refugees, make them wait out here for five days or so before letting them in. That might act as a safeguard and prevent anyone in Bluestone from getting sick. It might seem cruel but...well, even I still consider this home. I would not want anything to happen here." James admitted.

"Understood, doc. Take care of yourself." Fredrick saluted before letting James leave and closing the gate.

With that, the group turned back to the woods but quickly deferred to James as it was only him who knew how to get around the area. The overcast skies probably did not make for a joyful atmosphere but it at least allowed enough light that everything was a bright, if pale, white. Eventually, discussion started up again.

"You know anything that might be tasty in these woods?" Carl asked. James bounced the question back and forth in his head.

"No, not really. Are you hungry already?" James asked.

"Not really, just getting ideas for recipes I might want to make." Carl replied.

"I'm guessing all you'll find here are molerats." Adam muttered.

"You would not be far off, that and hardy fish, a couple of rodents as well, such as squirrel." James explained.

"Yeah, when I passed through here there was nothing spectacular. Just a lot of woods." Adam said.

"When did you pass through here?" James asked. Adam suddenly looked uneasy.

"This was before regulating." Adam admitted, an unspoken euphemism among them that meant back in the days when he was assassinating. That also translated to stop asking questions about it.

"So how much further to Kingston? I really hate these woods." Sven murmured.

"Just a couple more hours, we should be there before sunset." James answered.

Suddenly, the marksman stopped with his hand raised again. Of course, everyone became alarmed and reached for their weapons. Adam was the first to speak as they all looked around.

"Where is it coming from?" Adam asked.

"Straight ahead...but...it doesn't sound big." James said, deducing the sounds.

"It's got four legs..." Adam figured out. Everyone gave him questioning looks.

"Are you sure?" Sven asked.

"Yeah, I can hear the footfalls. It's got four-" Adam never finished the sentence because a sizable creature suddenly appeared over the hill. Dark brown, fuzzy and apparently very curious, it stopped short when it saw the Liberators with their weapons drawn.

"Rat?!" Julia cried. Sure enough, the rodent with the same familiar brown coat and friendly disposition scurried up to them, waving its front paws in the air and chattering to no end. As if to confirm any doubts, they spotted the familiar rope collar with the landmine arming mechanism tied as a center piece.

"You're just not happy unless you're with us, aren't you?" Carl said, bending down to talk better to the rodent. The Rat squeaked in response. Sven said nothing, but his brows furrowed, the voices in his head told him something was not right.

"Well, I guess we better hurry before someone on the _Half Moon_ freaks out when they realize our faithful rat has gone looking for us. I wonder how he knew where to go look for us." Julia announced. James continued to lead them.

The rat squeaked as if to explain to them that until they changed their scents, they would have a hard time eluding him.

–

Kingston was once the capital of New York before it got switched over to Albany. A sizable city sitting next to the Hudson, it was largely spared from the nuclear holocaust as it did not present much of a target. The fallout from the Great War, however, treated the city no different than it did the rest of the wastes until Kingston was reduced to what most cities were to these days, large and empty ruins with a fledgling population of humans desperately searching to survive.

At this point, they deferred to Adam as he was the most well traveled and, unlike James who had been stuck in the mountains, Adam had passed through Kingston more than twice.

"I remember the old church being a nice place. If Pastor Kris is still alive, he can tell us if there's anything going on we need to take care of. He's a good guy, cares about the people in town and keeps an ear on the ground." Adam explained. The others nodded.

"Well now, that's what I call a church!" Carl exclaimed, seeing the large building with its steeple raised to the sky. The old church was built long before the Great War when the first colonist arrived in the area. Heavily built of stones, the hardy construction kept the church resiliently standing throughout the centuries.

"Well, no sense gawking, let's head in." Adam said.

–

"You better not be lying to me!" Mark bellowed in the House Caravans Office. The other merchants and tradesmen all stood coldly, their arms folded across their chests as the two regulators and the Gutsy listened to a rather traumatized looking caravan merchant.

"Jim head up to Queens with two other guys, he returned here with just himself, lost his mind, raving mad and he hasn't been the same since." one of the clerks stated.

"Jim, why don't you speak for yourself. Are you sure it was the people called the Neighbors who did this and not the Hunters?" Mark demanded. The merchant called Jim simply whimpered.

"I need you to speak up quickly before my patience runs out." Cindy grumbled to the man.

"Leave him alone, can't you see he's suffering enough?" another clerk scolded. Jim shuddered.

"I-I know it was the Neighbors. I saw them eat my friends right in front of my face. If it wasn't for the fact that the ones they called the Hunters attacked, I would not have been able to distract them and escape. I promise you...they did it." Jim said. Mark's face suddenly darkened before he slammed a clip into his Chinese Assault rifle and started marching off.

"Where are you going?" Cindy demanded.

"Time to settle a score." Mark announced darkly.

–

The Liberators stepped into the old stone church and were met by a large group of people turning to look at them. They all looked like your typical wastelanders, even a few ghouls were in the bunch. Seeing a sizable group of people lounging in a church was not unheard of. Any place could become a community hangout and a lot of people had a tendency to retreat to a holy place in the event of a crisis. However, there was something in their stare that seemed a little off. This was why the Liberators simply stopped in the doorway as the heavy wooden door slammed shut behind them. Even the rat stopped and sat curiously on his haunches, his beady eyes casting questioning glances.

A man in ratty, long, black robes stumbled up to them.

"You!" the man declared. The regulators as stared back at him nervously.

"Me!" Sven blathered.

"You...the 'L's on your sleeves...are you...the Liberators?" the man asked. Carl, James, Julia, Adam and Sven nodded in unison. The man shot both his arms heavenwards as if in triumph.

"Praise be to God, our prayers are answered!" the man declared.

"I haven't seen Pastor Kris this out of it before." Adam whispered to the others.

"Care to explain on how our dropping in here is an answer to your prayer?" Carl asked.

"A better question would be what was your prayer?" James inquired. There was a momentary interruption as nearly everyone in the church, you and old, ghouls and non-ghouls left their spots to surround them.

"We prayed to be free from the Shades." Pastor Kris explained.

"Shades?" the Liberators asked in unison.

–

Kurt watched as the latest stranger pathetically tried to crawl away, his body riddled with bullets. That would ruin the meat but they had little choice at this point. Food really should not have the ability to fight back. This was probably what the Hunters felt like.

He watched as one of the Neighbors planted a pistol round into the victim's head.

"Someone fish out the bullets from the meat and then we can get cooking." Kurt ordered.

"Right." one of the Neighbors said and hurried off to the carcass. He was immediately cut down by an extended burst of gunfire.

The neighbors looked up to see three figures in the distance. Kurt's mouth dropped open in disbelief. Mark stood in the lead, his Chinese assault rifle blazing, cutting down those around him. Norad unleashed blasts of sheering hot plasma from his cannon but it was Cindy that especially got his attention. Her launcher fired a red stick that swiftly jumped out and bit him.

Kurt numbly looked down just below his rib cage and saw a thick, red rod sticking out of him. At the very end of the rod, he saw a small spark disappear into the cylinder.

He never heard the explosion.

–

Pastor Kris explained to the Liberators the whole situation, it seemed like the tale was a burden in itself, a weight that the clergy man felt all too keenly on his shoulders.

"The Shades, sometimes called 'The Society,' are a new band of mercenaries. Their leader is some kind of psychopath called 'Vinioux.' They claim they're trying to bring peace and order to the communities here. The locals are not so sure about that." Kris explained, rubbing his hands together nervously as he glanced around.

"Why do you say that? What are they doing to the locals?" Adam asked.

"First, they impose martial law, setting up a curfew. Those who break it are lucky if they just get nailed with a hefty fine that would leave them capless. Usually they include a beating...among other things." Kris trailed off.

"Other things?" Carl inquired. Kris hesitated.

"...Look, I don't think I need to explain what a bunch of men might do to a woman...occasionally another man if that's what suits them. It's not uncommon if no one sees the person they catch, and that's just for curfew. They requisition merchants' inventories on the smallest infractions if any misdeed at all. Some have said they have made whole villages disappear, for what reason, no one knows!" Kris cried, spreading his hands helplessly. The other people in the church stared at the Liberators pleadingly. It was rather pathetic.

"What do they wear, what are we looking for?" Adam asked.

"You'll know them, they usually wear caps and bandannas or hoods to hide most of their face. Regardless, they color their bandanas, scarves and hoods with white teeth which makes them look like ghostly terrors at night, hence 'Shades.'" Kris explained.

"So you're saying the Shades have you guys locked down in here?" Adam asked.

"Yes, and the worst part is that they have a tendency of recruiting from local people or putting secret others in their payroll as undercover hands or informants. I know the people in here are loyal to the town and are not under the influence of the Shades, and we are most of the town, but I have no clue about any others out there." Kris explained. The Liberators all seemed to take a moment to process the whole matter. The exception was Rat, who noticed all the children surrounding him, obviously finding him rather cute. He tried to hide first behind Julia but only attracted more children. Dashing behind Carl, his efforts were thwarted and before the rodent knew it, he was scampering away from all the attention, a crowd of children hot on his paws.

"I hate to say this but nothing is free, preacher. You guys at least have a small compensation fee?" Adam stated. James was about to scold him when the pastor nodded.

"Nothing comes to mind, but if you remove the presence of the Shades here so that we can at least have our town back, I'm sure we can work something out." Kris agreed. They ignored the sounds of giggles and laughing as the children herded Rat into a corner, the large rodent suddenly smothered by a crowd of small children. Granted, Rat did love attention but this time he got more than he bargained for.

"Wait a minute, did a ship called the _Half Moon_ pull in here awhile ago? Do you know what happened to the crew of that ship?" Julia asked suddenly. Kris lowered his head.

"They were seized and thrown in the local jail by the Shades. There was...a gunshot, I believe an...execution." Kris admitted. The Liberators suddenly became stony grave.

"Nevermind preacher, I think you just gave us enough information to make us even." Adam said darkly.


	14. Chapter 14

_You who would oppress the poor and defenseless_

_You who would believe that your sins go unseen_

_Know that God watches over you_

_And that the angels of those you torment _

_Report all your misdeeds to Him._

_I am a fallen angel, used by Heaven to light the darkness_

_I am Liberator _

_Know that you, oppressor, your days are numbered_

_Trust me, you will rest assured on that _

_Eternally_

_

* * *

  
_

Rat understood that there were noticeable shifts in the moods and feelings of humans. Subtle changes in their scents could indicate higher levels of stress. Rat noticed this as he scampered from hiding place to hiding place in the church.

Normally, he would try to see what was going on with his human friends but he was currently tied up trying to avoid a mob of overly friendly children. Alas, though Rat probably felt for his Liberator friends, his current problem prevented him from doing anything about it. The rodent got buried under several youngsters all well set on tickling him. Rat disappeared in a fit of gleeful, if involuntary, rodent squeaks.

The Liberators, meanwhile, looked about ready to detonate an atomic bomb or two.

"Isaac, we have to check on Isaac!" Julia panicked, heading for the door.

"No, wait! We have to think this out!" James cried, quickly snatching her and perhaps it was only by her great restraint that he did not earn a black eye when she momentarily tried to fight back.

"I'm going to burn their ashes so fine there won't be anything left for hell to take!" Sven declared.

"Preacher, did you see which ones did it? Who was executed?" Carl asked, hands clenched tight around his super sledge.

"No, we could only see fuzzy shapes through the windows. I just know because they've been seizing crews that have been landing here. Usually one of the crew gets killed by them so the rest will do whatever they say. They're lucky if they get to leave town alive." Pastor Kris explained.

"Guys, wait, there's a way we can gather information without going in guns blazing and figure out how we're going to approach this." Adam announced.

"We're all ears." James said, hand still holding Julia's shoulder.

–

James left the church and carefully looked both ways of the street. Only a few people made their way out in the remains of the town. They were the nameless and lone wolves of the town. In all reality, James saw more of the imposing, fang colored, masked Shades standing guard in the roads. So that's what they looked like.

What most people could not see was that before James closed the church door, a barely visible distortion in the light drifted out the church and passed him before becoming almost invisible out in the streets.

Finally, there was a hidden mic concealed under the collar of his duster feeding anything he said and heard to a certain scribe begrudgingly listening in a certain church.

Also following him was Carl, the giant having left his weapons in the church as to appear non-threatening. (Anyone just below seven feet carrying a hammer is more intimidating than most normal guys walking around with a pistol.) Regardless, James winced as he noticed several of the masked Shades cast wary glances at the two of them, mostly at Carl. However, Carl put on his best plastic smile and nodded at each of them.

"Lovely day, sirs." Carl grinned.

They finally made it inside the building they were told had become the Shades' makeshift prison.

Both Carl and James held tentative breaths as they prepared to open the door of the prison. If there was any point of the operation that could easily break down, it was this phase. First off, there was no telling how the Shades would react with them walking in. They were hoping on playing with the Shades' facade of posing as a legitimate organization. There was also no telling on how whoever was left of the _Half Moon_ would respond with them walking in.

The answer to that, which came as soon as they opened the door, was badly.

"James! Carl! You have to get us out! You have no clue what they've done to us!" Saffron practically screamed, launching herself at the bars. As heart breaking as it was for the two to do, they both glanced at each other and shrugged.

"You must have us mistaken for someone else, woman." James said very carefully and coldly.

_"Please Saffron, get it, please get it, please get it..." _James prayed. Saffron looked like she was going to break down and then, just when the two regulators thought they were going to get compromised, Saffron bravely pulled herself together.

"Y-yes...I'm, I'm sorry, I thought you were other people." Saffron said carefully. She was in bad shape, bruises under her eyes while her hair was in disarray.

"What can I do for you, regulators?" a masked Shade asked jovially. Carl immediately stepped in.

"We're a bunch of roving regulators. Has there been any trouble here we could help out in?" Carl asked.

"Nope, we got it under control." the Shade jail keeper explained. Meanwhile, James made a quick scan of the entire jail. The prison bars were horribly corroded and the cells were sparsely furnished. There were not even beds or even a bucket to act as a privy.

Even more alarming was how Alexandra was just simply sitting, sulking in a corner, not acting, reacting or even doing anything other than staring into space. Saffron cradled a weakly whimpering Isaac.

James could not see Jared, Ibrahim or Sufia.

"So, how many of you do you have watching this town?" Carl asked disarmingly.

"About twenty or so." the Shade responded.

"Really? You can do a lot with about twenty men, I remember one day when I was out fishing..." Carl started off on one of his fishing stories.

James took the opportunity of the Shade, obviously watching Carl very carefully, to sneak up next to Saffron. The woman carefully crept up to James while still trying to comfort Isaac. The two shared a quick discussion.

"How have they been treating you?" James whispered.

"Horrible. We have not had food or water since we got here yesterday. I can't even convince them to get anything for Isaac no matter how hard he cried all yesterday. He's getting too weak to carry on now." Saffron explained. James was certain that if Julia was not strangling the radio at this point, he could be sure she was letting her anger out on something. He certainly wanted to strangle something himself.

"Where's Ibrahim, Sufia and Jared?" James inquired quickly.

"They took Ibrahim and Sufia away, I think to the shed to the side on the left." Saffron said quickly before hesitating. She blinked before she finished her thought.

"They...they killed Jared...shot him on the docks and tossed his body into the river." Saffron answered. James remained silent.

"They just bloody shot him, James. He did not do anything. He did not even have time to react." Saffron whispered sadly.

–

Listening on an impromptu receiver, the translucent form that was Adam quickly crept up towards the rickety building that Saffron described. Firmly deciding that he did not want to know what he would find in there, Adam nonetheless stalked up to one of the windows and glanced inside. Peering through the shadows and dark lights, Adam tried to make sense of what was going on.

No sooner did it click, Adam quickly turned away before slowly sitting down and leaning next to the building. Rarely did the wasteland wing something at a regulator that made them flinch but sometimes, when you find people you were living closely with get on the receiving end of the world's ugly stick...

Well sometimes it just made your heart break that people could do this to each other.

–

James and Carl returned back to the church, Adam suddenly materializing as soon as the church door slammed shut behind them. Julia immediately buried herself in James' chest, sobbing, obviously distraught by everything she had just heard.

"It's all right, it's all right, we'll get them out soon." James whispered into her ear.

"We got a plan to bring hell to these guys?" Sven demanded, arms crossed in front of his chest.

"We better get cracking. I know that's exactly what I want to do to a bunch of heads with my hammer." Carl muttered darkly.

"How are Ibrahim and Sufia?" James asked, obviously not wanting to hear the answer from Adam. Adam sighed heavily before answering. His response was careful and quiet.

"They're um...they're...'_tormenting' _Sufia. They've got Ibrahim chained up to...watch the whole thing. He also looks like he took a few beatings." Adam finally said.

"By the time I'm done, hell is going to look tame to them." Sven growled.

"Patience, we need a plan because we won't do them any good if we fail. We need a plan." James ordered, gently stroking Julia's hair as he addressed the others, the Scribe finally pulled herself together.

"All right...do we have any ideas?" Julia asked, her voice still weak. She smiled sadly as she felt Rat walk up next to her, stand on his hind legs and awkwardly hugged her leg with his two front paws.

"First, Sven, start building bombs. Lots of bombs." Adam ordered.

Sven started giggling demonically.

–

A new moon hung in the sky, a white shard hanging in the evening as sparse clouds veiled most of the stars. The remains of Kingston were mostly quiet save for the ghastly forms of the Shades strolling through the dark streets, maintaining their imposed curfew. Their assault rifles painted intimidating shadows in the night.

On the open square tower that jutted out of the church, a lone Shade kept a silent vigil over most of the city. His sniper rifle rested on his shoulder as his sharp eyes scanned the area. He did not suspect anything would happen this night. Few if anything happened these days at night ever since they slammed into town.

He did not notice the square trap door silently slide open and then close as if of its own accord.

The Shade did not even make a noise as the stone barricade of the wall became painted with his own blood. Meanwhile, the dark form of an assassin materialized as he gently lowered the body of the Shade on the stone floor before disappearing over the wall and carefully climbing down the stone work.

–

Having sneaked out earlier in the day under the influence of Adam's spare stealth boys, Sven and Julia waited just out of sight of the docks behind rocks and in the shadows by the shoreline. Watching the outline of the Shade sentry disappear, they sprung their move, quickly moving towards the docks. Being able to spend the whole day watching the ships, they immediately knew which direction to head to, finding the _Half Moon_ relatively quickly.

Making a final stop behind several crates, the two waited while Sven reached into his coat and pulled out a patchwork remote. The pyromaniac hesitated a moment before pushing the button.

He then activated it with a little too much gusto.

On the far side of town, where the road led up into the inhabited part of Kingston, a lone car wreck suddenly exploded.

The sudden noise masked the sound of a single railway rifle screaming in the night, a perfectly aligned row of Shade guards were simply cut in half by a hypersonic heavy bolt cleaving through all three of them.

Unaware of the demise of their comrades, the Shades that could be spared immediately started heading towards the burning wreck to inspect what was going on. Many of them left the docks and streets, suddenly leaving the presence they held in the town down to a skeleton crew. Sven and Julia sprung their move, creeping onto the abandoned _Half Moon, _acurious New York rat hot on their heels.

The only Shade that was left guarding the ship had his skull split open by a pump action shotgun before his body fell into the river.

Sven and Julia immediately made their way down into the ship to start the engine up.

Having left his sniping position, James as well as Carl simultaneously appeared from the shadows, James next to the main jail holding Saffron, Alexandra and Isaac, Carl creeping up on the old shack. They watched as two stragglers from the Shades across from them on the streets bizarrely appeare to have their throats slit out of thin air, the veiled Adam working proficiently.

James crashed the door of the jail open. His eyes finding two Shades, his right hand drew the plasma pistol from his belt and aimed it at the far most one while his gloved mechanical arm lashed out and grabbed the closer one by the throat. James' voice was deathly calm as the artificial fingers clenched tighter around the Shade's windpipe, rapidly crushing it.

"Your sin is oppressing the innocent and starving my infant son." James explained. The helpless Shade that was held on gunpoint by James looked ready to come to his comrade's aid until James fired his plasma pistol, melting the guard's assault rifle as well as his hand.

James continued to grasp the wheezing shade in his other hand.

"Don't worry, you won't die a slower death by suffocation." James told him before slamming his head into the jail bars, the iron rods producing two bloodied dents in the man's skull.

James turned his attention to the other man, nursing the stump of his wrist.

"If and when you wake up, tell your leader to cease and desist or I promise you, your victims' liberation will be exacted with the cost of your lives." James growled at him before punching the man's lights out.

James immediately found the keys.

–

Carl blasted the door guarding the shack into a thousand splinters with a quick if powerful shove. The three guards that came at him found themselves thrown to the floor, their vision swimming with a quick swing of Carl's giant fist. The towering mountain of a man immediately made his way to the ghoul.

"Hey there, buddy, you all right?" Carl asked. Ibrahim looked up at him.

"I will be when you get me out of my chains." the ghoul muttered, a new fire suddenly lighting in his clouded eyes. Carl quickly undid his chains.

The ghoul rubbed his wrist where the shackles had rubbed into them and stretched his rotted muscles that had become sorely bruised through the endless torture inflicted on him. He was shocked to see a sudden glint of metal in the moonlight before realizing Carl was offering him the scimitar his father had given him, having found it in the guards' possession.

"I'm going to be busy looking the other way now." Carl announced too loudly as Ibrahim numbly took the ancient weapon just as the giant lumbered past him to free his sister. Ibrahim meanwhile let his gaze fall on the still dazed Shades. A snarl formed on his ruined features.

The scimitar rose and fell savagely. Again. And Again. And Again.

Carl gently opened Sufia's cell, finding the woman curled up in the corner of her prison. Carl simply lifted her up in one arm.

"Are you all right?" Carl asked gently. He felt Sufia numbly nod on his shoulder, her legs awkwardly dangling high above the ground due to Carl's height.

"It's okay, they can't hurt you anymore." Carl assured before leaving the cell. Sufia nonetheless let out a sorrowful whimper.

Ibrahim's butchering was cut short when he felt himself also get lifted up into the air and onto Carl's other shoulder.

"Careful there, buddy, we're going to be making a run so I'd suggest you two hold tight and prepare for the ride." the giant announced.

–

The _Half Moon's _fusion engine rumbled, ready to leave at a moment's notice. Sven and Julia watched anxiously until they were satisfied by the sight of James, Carl and the others suddenly appear on the streets. They were all set at a full sprint back towards the ship. That was the last signal.

Sven readied his launcher and aimed the sights. Lining it up on the crowd of Shades watching the burning car, Sven aimed towards the center mass before a missile screamed off the launcher.

The Liberator's final warning screamed over the heads of the others, Adam suddenly appearing in their midst, as the missile found its mark on the Shades. James and Adam suddenly turned around, watching the bodies of the Shades, looking for movement. Finding none of them getting up, the two quickly tried to catch up with the rest of the group, quickly covering the distance over the dock and safely onto the _Half Moon_.

Julia took the whimpering Isaac from Saffron, searching for a bottle of Brahmin milk she had kept on herself for this specific moment. Alexandra immediately headed for the helm while Carl and Saffron made their way to the anchor assembly and raised the heavy weight out of the water. The _Half Moon_ did not linger in the slightest as Alexandra gunned the engines and the propellers spun as fast as they could below the water.

The next morning, the people of Kingston collected the bodies and burned them, setting their own watches to look for any signs of those from the Society who dared to return.


	15. Chapter 15

"_But fix your eyes below, upon the valley, for now we near the stream of blood,_

_where those who injure others violently,_

_boil."_

_Dante's Inferno Canto XII_

_

* * *

  
_

Mark's chest was trembling as his galloping heart continued on in a full blown panic. The adrenaline coursing through his system did not help either but at least the cognitive part of his brain told him that everything was mostly clear. No one liked it when a bunch of super mutants jumped you and your team on a regular patrol. They had appeared too quickly for even Norad to pick up. A mutant brute had simply lashed out and grabbed Cindy by the torso, hefting the petrified woman into the air.

The good news was that Norad and himself had been able to kill the three mutants, the brute included, before any harm could be done to Cindy.

The bad news was that Mark was certain the murderous raider was coming out of Cindy again. He was going to have to stop it.

"Die, die! Die, you devil! You monster!" Cindy was screaming, repeatedly stabbing and bludgeoning the brute's mushed face with a jagged piece of concrete. The hysterical woman was both sobbing and shouting at the dead creature, profanities generously peppered where possible.

"Cindy." Mark stated. Cindy simply continued to bawl.

"Are you carbon based lifeforms this fragile? Thank God you were not able to program real emotions into us." Norad muttered.

"Don't start, VR-5" Mark scolded, calling the Gutsy by his proper designation.

"Cindy...stop." Mark ordered. The woman continued to kneel next to the completely unrecognizable mutant.

"Cindy, it's over." Mark said, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" Cindy screamed, the concrete shard now menacingly pointed at Mark. Mark did not back down.

"Cindy...what are you?" Mark asked firmly.

"Just...just shut up, Mark! Shut up! You don't know what I've done, how long I've lived-"

"Cindy...you can't change the past, but you don't need to make it your future." Mark stated.

"I've done too many bad things! You don't know who I've tortured, young kids! I enjoyed listening to them scream! I squeezed the bloody life out of them and I laughed, Mark. I _laughed! _Just like this bloody mutant. Oh hell, I'm just like one of them!" Cindy cried, water pouring down her face as every single burning memory went past her. Too many years spent shedding blood will mess you up and bring every demon out of their closets at some point. Mark stood still and let her cry for a moment.

"Is that what you want to be?" Mark simply asked calmly.

"...N-no..." Cindy pouted.

"Then don't be...we still want to help, I still want to help, and I know our Liberator friends will help." Mark answered.

"Mark..." Cindy started.

"Yes?" the regulator asked carefully this time.

"Can...will...I...I need a hug..." Cindy sniffed.

He did roll his eyes, but he nonetheless gently embraced her. If Norad had eyes, he would have rolled them too.

–

Eventually, the reality of the wastelands will burn through your mind and haunt your dreams. Before you know it, you will find its demons back with seven more of its uglier brethren to torment your sleep. Even the flawed righteous do not find atonement as the horrors they witnessed and the blood they have shed does not wash out of their hands.

Julia sadly laid in bed, drained from everything that had transpired in the past 24 hours. They were all exhausted. Sufia had declined any help and simply collapsed within her room, her brother Ibrahim unsure on how to help her. After awhile, the woman fell asleep, tears still running down her face as she now had new shades to face when she only wanted rest.

Ibrahim morosely stroked his sister's beautiful long hair. He knew both he and she still had dreams, of the oppression and prejudice they faced wandering alone for so long without the protection of their parents. He was always the older brother, it was his job to protect her and he had failed miserably in that.

He hated those night terrors. He hated seeing his parents die again and again before his eyes. He wanted nothing more than for that memory to go away. He hated seeing them melt before him, desperately trying to get the little Sufia away from the all encompassing horrors, taking on a burden much too big for a twelve year old boy to handle.

Most people's nightmares ended in black. His ended in pure white.

Saffron and Alexandra suffered the same bad dreams. Something going wrong the caravan, lost in some dark corner, surrounded by dangers, starving to death (which they dangerously got close to on more than one occasion) and for Alexandra, losing yet another person she could not replace.

Caps bought almost anything here in the wastes, but it just could not redeem another person's life. The utter stupidity and audacity of humanity was disgusting.

Adam no longer saw big coherent dreams anymore. Just endless rows of bloodied and mutilated bodies, their unseeing eyes boring right through his soul. How many innocents did he kill, just for the sake of orders and caps, back when he was a full assassin? How many times had he watched himself and his crew all shot down, killed in the most brutal ways, all because of a bad decision on his part or just because a bad roll of the dice?

How many times did he have to bloody watch Leslie get ripped from him? How many times?

Carl still ever so often faced a scolding mother so much larger than himself, Carl being just a small boy again. The small boy who cried so hard that he was no monster. He did not mean to kill her. And then, when he ran, found another woman he could love, and one that could love him, she died after just three short years. She fell victim to the wastes. What could he have possibly done to prevent that? Then why did these horrible nightmares kept coming back?

The concept of hell was lost on Sven. His terrors were cold and dark. Lost in a world of shadows and cold, Sven would suddenly find himself surrounded by a bunch of demonic raiders, all of them gunning down his friends. His friends, the ones he had grown up with and loved, the family he had after his own passed away. And the only thing he could do is hold the single, bloody, dark grenade. Again, again, night after night he drops it and to his great dismay, he still lives in each dream. Meanwhile, all is shattered, his friends violently killed.

How many times had he screamed for them to get up, only for his pleading to fall on deaf, dead ears?

James had too many nightmares. Old haunts from the past, condemning him for a death, a murder, he never should have committed. Why could they have not understood that he only wanted to help? How many nameless faces did he see pass before him, all of them wanting his blood yet kindly telling him he only meant well, of course he did and yet their blood still covered him.

And now how many times did he have to watch Julia and now Isaac taken from him?

How many times did he have to watch this bloody left arm jump out and try to eat him, try to consume him?

Julia watched, a little bothered, as James' mechanical arm suddenly bolted up by his side and started twitching, completely unnoticed by her still sleeping husband. She had read somewhere that a mild paralyzing agent went through your body during your sleep, preventing you from full blown reacting to your dreams. However, since James' prosthetic was hooked up electronically to his spinal cord, but not the chemicals, his arm often reacted more violently than the rest of his body did. His face was contorting uncomfortably. Another bad dream.

"It's okay sweetheart, it's okay..." Julia whispered, gently stroking his cheek. She smiled as the mechanical arm slowly calmed down before reaching over and gently landing on her hand. It was amazing on how gentle he could be with that artificial limb.

Julia let herself relax and slowly drifted off to sleep. She knew she did not have the bed dreams that her fellow Liberators did nor did she look forward to them. She was spared their terrors because she had lived a relatively sheltered life compared to them.

However, she still heeded the warning Carl had told her once. The nightmares would come soon enough after the first several missions or so.

–

The next morning Adam numbly walked back towards the bridge and was a little surprised to find Alexandra already there though he realized he should not have been shocked at all. Regardless, the two did not bicker or even scowl at each other, still too worn out to find the strength to create another scene.

"I'm sorry about Jared." Adam apologized quietly.

"Shut up." Alexandra growled. Adam shot her a look before rolling his eyes.

"Seriously, what is your problem? I just wanted to apologize that we could not save you guys in time, at least him. I know he was a valuable part of your crew." Adam defended.

"And you never knew him, so how can you feel bad?" Alexandra spat.

"Because maybe I actually care about people, even if I do like to count my caps!" Adam shouted.

"Don't be stupid, no one cares for others, they only do it if its in their best interests, which is why you do count your caps." Alexandra snarled.

"Really? You want to bet how many caps the townspeople gave us? None. We were not able to collect any of the fingers from the Shades. _You_ have yet to give me anything for rescuing you and you know what, though I probably would accept a donation, I doubt anyone else on my crew would. You know why, because we _care_." Adam snapped, wondering if he was preaching to himself as much as he was to her. Alexandra just rolled her eyes before angrily staring back at the river, still manning the helm. The two stood in silence again.

"So where's the next stop?" Adam asked, trying to calm the situation.

"I'm not sure. There's a small place called 'Olsco' up the river. Maybe...maybe I can cut our losses there." Alexandra murmured.

"What do you mean by 'cut your losses?'" Adam asked. Alexandra scowled at him scornfully.

"What I mean is, in case you did not notice, those Shades cleared out most of my inventory, the only way to fix that is praying I can at least make some profits at Olsco. Now leave me alone." Alexandra ordered. Adam shook his head and simply left.

Back in the kitchens, Saffron and Carl both busied themselves with preparing breakfast, in this case Salisbury steaks with whatever other sides they could find. Rat quite obnoxiously sat right in the middle of the kitchen, constantly looking at the food.

"Shoo, we'll call you when its ready and you won't get anything a moment before." Saffron scolded the rodent. Rat simply looked at her a moment before staring back at the food.

"Go, Rat." Carl ordered, gently pushing the New York rat away with his foot. Rat stubbornly sat, sliding on the metal floor.

"Fine, sit there but you're not getting anything yet." Carl muttered, not effecting Rat at all.

Carl looked over and noticed Sufia and Ibrahim walking in and both sat down at a table. The giant noticed that, even for a ghoul, Ibrahim looked particularly devastated and Sufia just could not lift her gaze. Carl immediately felt bad for both of them but since they mostly kept to themselves, there was little he could work with if he wanted to talk to them. It also did not help that he knew they were of a different faith. He just remembered James mentioning something about them believing in something different, the two men did not make anything of it but it did not give Carl any common ground to work with. The giant cook frowned as he continued to think. He noticed Rat still staring up at him. Carl bent down and whispered to the large rodent.

"Hey, how about you make yourself useful and go make friends with Sufia and Ibrahim? Who knows, I might make you another patty." Carl hinted. Rat blinked, hesitated a moment and then shuffled out of the kitchen before making his way to the brother and sister.

Carl felt unsure when Rat hauled himself up on the bench that Sufia and Ibrahim were sitting on and planted himself between the two, sitting on his haunches to switch glances between the two humans. Ibrahim and Sufia did their best to ignore the rodent. They decided it was not a good idea to scold or otherwise reprimand the Liberators' pet, for all they knew the rodent probably had some hidden danger if it had been able to survive and adventure with them and still come out in one piece. However, Ibrahim was not appreciating the fuzzy lump and started to glare at Rat. Rat simply stared back at him, sat back down and curled into a ball between the two, as if announcing he wanted to rest. Ibrahim looked like he was about to growl at Rat but he caught Sufia's glare and stopped. The two sat again in silence, trying to ignore the large, fuzzy lump.

It took a minute or two, but Sufia involuntarily found herself stroking Rat's coat. Ibrahim held out longer but even he secretly, and begrudgingly, brushed Rat's head for a moment. Eventually, Carl heard Sufia let out a little giggle from Rat's antics as the rodent continued to find more ways to get attention out of them.

Carl secretly smiled as he worked in the kitchens. Perhaps there was a reason they kept Rat around, other than the brilliantly odd moments when the rat practically swooped in and would accidentally save their lives. It may have took the Liberators a bit to learn this but despite being a rat, an obtrusive, overly curious, nosy, giant vermin, he was a still lovable fuzzy lump.

As promised, the fuzzy lump got two patties.

–

When the _Half Moon_ pulled up into Olsco, everyone on the ship immediately knew something was amiss. No one could be seen within the streets. Rubbish and discarded items were lying haphazardly on the ground. A vaguely familiar and very ominous smell lingered in the air.

"Where is everyone? There are usually people here on the docks. Why is it so quiet?" Alexandra asked. The Liberators were all lined up on the railing, armed to the teeth. Rat was lingering near the edge, ready to be rebellious and leap over the edge to join his friends on their latest adventure despite the dangers. Julia handed Isaac to Sufia.

"Watch him for me, please?" Julia requested to which Sufia gladly nodded.

"Julia, Carl, cover us as we get down to the shore as you two will be the last to leave. James, you follow after me and get your rifle out ASAP. I have a bad feeling about this." Adam announced.

After carefully following, Adam's instructions, the Liberators were all gathered on the shore, their weapons shouldered, expecting to be fired upon and yet nothing happened. They ignored the splash of Rat landing in the water before eagerly scampering up to them.

"I don't see any signs of destruction, no spent bullet casing...where did everyone go?" Adam asked.

"I'm not seeing anything myself." Carl added. Sven sniffed the air.

"There was a fire...large one...they were burning...humans." Sven informed.

"How recent?" James asked, scanning the streets through his scope."

"I'd say there's still fire." Sven calculated.

"All right, keep your eyes peeled, there could be something ahead." Adam ordered. Suddenly, they heard Rat give out an alarmed squeak and started rushing out ahead of them. Rat had never done that before. The Liberators immediately followed hard on his paws.

"What's gotten into him?" Julia demanded.

"Did you ever see him like this before?" James asked.

"No...well, wait, there was one time he was acting like this." Julia remembered.

"And when was that?" James inquired. The epiphany that shone in Julia's eyes caused her to answer rather slowly.

"...When he led us to you guys that night after you killed the creature and were nearly dead."

"Lowell!" Adam suddenly yelled.

Sure enough, Rat had led them to two humans in dire straits. Mina was passed out on a bench while it appeared Lowell himself was not much better. The Liberators had a swarm of questions going through their minds. What were their two friends doing here? Did they have anything to do with the disappearance of the town? However, the more important questions to be dealt with was what was wrong with them.

Rat was squeaking in panic over Mina's lack of consciousness while Adam was frantically calling Lowell's name.

"Lowell? You all right? Speak to me, man. Where were you shot? What's going on?" Adam demanded of the delirious man. James pushed Adam aside and squinted through his shades. Both Mina and Lowell had cracked lips and despite the furious heat, Julia and James could tell that they were not sweating.

"Dehydration." James muttered, glancing at Julia to verify the diagnosis. Julia frowned over Mina.

"James, they're on the verge of heat stroke if they're not there already." Julia replied. James immediately took control.

"All right, Julia, Sven, you two carry Mina. Carl, help me carry Lowell. Adam, run back to the _Half Moon_, see if they have anything like ice or something to help us cool these two down. We need to get water into them and cool down their body temperature or their brains are going to boil." James informed.

It was all the convincing they needed.

Several minutes later under a steady watch, a lot of care and plenty of apprehension, Lowell finally came to and was able to speak coherently. Mina had stabilized though she still had to wake. It was all Julia could do to keep rat from pestering the still sleeping adolescent.

"Enjoy your beauty sleep?" Adam cracked at Lowell. The former soldier rolled his eyes.

"If I felt better, I'd send you on a beauty sleep myself." Lowell groaned, holding his painful head. James handed him a bottle of water to which Lowell practically downed.

"So you know what happened to this town?" Carl asked. Lowell took a moment to gather his thoughts.

"Disease took out most of them, some bloody plague that has been going around." Lowell explained. That immediately had Vanderbrauns' attention.

"What kind?" the two asked in unison.

"I'm not a doctor, I've never seen it before." Lowell answered.

"Tell me the symptoms, what were they suffering from?" James demanded. Lowell groaned as he tried to recall.

"Not sure, they looked bad enough when I found them a day after they kicked the bucket and I had no time to ask my friends before the left." Lowell answered.

"Friends?" Carl asked.

"Yeah, when Mina and I dropped in on the town a day ago, most of the people were already dead but two of my old Ranger friends were in, keeping the peace while trying to evacuate the people. Look, there's also talk of some ghoul army in the area, which also has the people spooked." Lowell rambled.

"Ghoul army? Are they even smart enough to band together like that?" Carl asked.

"That's what the rumors say, and according to my friend, they're not rumors." Lowell answered.

"Hey, if they're all together, just let me drop a nuke or two. I got enough in my pack." Sven offered through his breathing mask.

"I'm going to let you guys sort out all of this, I have to go and see what this plague is. Is there a body still laying around?" James asked Lowell.

"Mina and I burned most of the bodies but there could have been one we missed." Lowell admitted.

"Ah, so that's the fire I smelled. You used a gasoline based fuel...Molotov?" Sven deducted. Lowell just stared at him speechless as James left the building, Julia hot on his heels.

"You got a weird talent, you know that?" Lowell finally told Sven. The pyromaniac simply laughed.

"Not talent, insanity. Did you know that they call me 'Slightly Psycho Sven?'" Sven answered. Lowell raised an eyebrow.

"Why only 'Slightly?'"

"Because I only have two personalities back then." Sven replied. Lowell was at lost for words.

"Back here, all right, tell me everything I need to know, plague, army, what else? Details?" Adam demanded, getting his old friend's attention.

–

James rushed from building to building, finding some sort of morbid irony in the fact that he was actually looking for a disease infected body. Usually he tried to avoid both as neither were pleasant. He seriously hoped Julia did not bring up the retirement conversation again as he would have little fodder to argue against the idea considering the present circumstances.

"James?" Julia asked as her husband searched through a house, finding it empty and then made his way for another.

"Yes?" James sent back.

"Why are you so dead set on finding this virus?" Julia asked. It was a fair question. He was asking the same to himself.

"Sweetheart...all the towns south of Albany and west of the river, all these local places that were in the Catskills, they are my home. I grew up hearing about these places and this is the second time this virus was mentioned. I know I don't visit Bluestone often but I still love my family. I need to see if there might be a cure for this." James answered, knocking down another door.

"How much knowledge do you have of viral outbreaks?" Julia inquired. James sighed.

"Just theories, a few tips from what I was able to read. I'll admit, probably not enough."

"I can tell you, the Brotherhood did not train me much better when it comes time to that...look, I'm not saying you're doing a bad thing, it's the right thing and I know that if you were not doing this, you wouldn't be yourself...just be careful." Julia cautioned.

"So then why are you following me?" James inquired.

"Well, someone has to keep an eye on you." Julia chided playfully. James chuckled before the laugh abruptly died in his throat. He found a body laying face up among the ruins.

"James, I wouldn't touch it without a sealed medical suit." Julia warned.

"I don't need to...I think I just got all the information I need." James mumbled.

The body was spotted with dark but faintly red blisters, still clinging to the corpse even in death.

–

Lowell and Adam had quickly moved their meeting to a table in the building they had taken refuge in. Lowell had already lit up a cigarette while gratefully accepting another glass of water. By now, Alexandra had left the _Half Moon_ and was listening in on the regulator discussion. Normally, she would not care for such matters but this time the two men had insisted she sit down with them.

"My friends, Scotti and Shelby, said the nearest town was St. Olivia, about three days journey upriver via ship." Lowell explained. Alexandra furrowed her brows.

"Yes, but I do recall there being other establishments but there could be a differences in the trails and what towns they run into. Regardless, I cannot stay here and Saffron has told me they have salvaged whatever they could of value from the town. So what are you boys trying to tell me?" Alexandra demanded.

"Well, best I can deduce, there's the Shades to worry about, headed by some guy named Vinioux, a plague that is apparently going around and Lowell here says that there's also a ghoul army on the loose." Adam stated. Lowell wiped the sweat from his forehead, his hands passing along the three distinctive scars along his face.

"I know this Viniox guy from before the war...but that's ancient history. I've yet to run into these 'Shades'-"

"They're bastards." Alexandra spat venomously. Lowell nervously let out a puff of smoke before continuing.

"But I think we have this ghoul army to worry about because it's close in the area. I'd suggest, captain, that we follow the river up north looking for refugees, gathering information before we find a place where we might intercept this army." Lowell said, addressing Alexandra.

"You're saying that you want to go take on an army of ferals...you and what army?" Alexandra demanded skeptically. Lowell shrugged and pointed at Adam.

"They destroyed The Wall plus a giant creature from the sewers. Who knows, my friends might want to help if they're nearby and if you want some of the action, more power to you." Lowell explained.

"No thanks." Alexandra rolled her eyes.

"We're just telling you this to keep you informed. You also realize that you're not going to be making a living if you keep running into ghost towns. If we protect the people, you have people to do business with." Adam pointed out.

"Yeah, I get it." Alexandra sighed.

Off to the side, Rat persistently kept a vigil on Mina. The rodent already lost one friend that looked a little bit like her before, and that was because he let her out of his sight for one moment. Now this new friend went and ran off and when he found her again she was in trouble. To think his five other friends wondered why he was so insistent on keeping them in his sight. Rat could tell she was getting better but he still did not like it with her asleep. He firmly poked his wet nose into her cheek again.

His efforts were rewarded this time with Mina's face wrinkling from the wet tickles of Rat's whiskers. Her eyes opening, she was a bit surprised to find Rat. Still weak but nonetheless glad to see that she was still alive, she stroked the rodent's head.

"Hi." Mina greeted.

–

Just on the outskirts of Olsco, Agent Danial Siaga watched as a lone helicopter rumbled high overhead, unnoticeable unless someone was specifically watching for them. The Enclave agent had noted that their numbers were increasing as of late. This seemed to go along with all the empty towns he had been finding, their populations decimated by this red plague. Keeping shrouded, the agent crept through this new town only to stop short, the scope of his Infiltrator rifle zooming in on a movement he had seen. He could not believe his eyes. For the first time in a long while he could see people. They were headed towards the docks. Even more jarring was the specific individuals. He just could not believe it was them and yet, if he had any doubts, the L insignias on five of their sleeves told him that he was not crazy.

* * *

_Author's Note: As you know, Lowell, Mina and the newly mentioned Scotti and Shelby belong to EasyCompany506_


	16. Chapter 16

_If heaven has no wrath, like love to hatred turned,_

_And hell no fury, like that of a woman scorned_

_Then what of the rage of a man was wrongfully turned to the grave_

_And now has returned?_

_

* * *

  
_

_It was a dream, a nightmare no less. The real memories were too strong for her to be confused with these twisted images. Still, she could not force herself to wake up. The streets of New York were burning while blood flowed freely under their feet. Julia and the band of refugees from the Defiance were breathlessly trying to make it to the House, unsure of the fate of the monster that just destroyed their base. _

_ Julia was shocked to see Rat suddenly scamper up to them, the rodent squeaking furiously in a panic. There were a confused yells and some commotion but Julia remembered convincing her Brotherhood comrades to follow her and the rat. She remembered never seeing Rat scamper like that, running with such a single minded focus. _

_ Irradiated frost started to fall, the cold, stinging pellets a discomfort that the other Brotherhood members complained about. Julia convinced them to continue. The soldiers popped Rad-X and resumed following the rodent who ignored the pain and kept pressing on. _

_ Julia was shocked when she suddenly saw Rat lead them to a group of four duster clad bodies passed out in the middle of the street. Sven was facing backwards, propped up on his back by his backpack while James was flat on his face, his left arm ominously missing as blood trickled through poorly applied gauze. Carl was also face down while Adam was in a similar position as Sven, the regulator leader furiously fighting to breathe with shallow breaths. _

_ "I need help, we have to get these men off the street!" Julia called, looking back at her comrades. She was immediately horrified to see them all laying on the asphalt reduced to either ancient bones or corroded power armor. _

_ "Help!" she called. _

_ It was only then that she looked back at her regulator friends, seeing Rat's prone skeleton off to the side while the four regulators were reduced to tattered rags and bleached bone. Whimpering, she looked around helplessly before bringing her hands to her face. She sputtered when she suddenly felt blood in her mouth, coughing the red liquid onto her hands that had been stripped of flesh and reduced to mere bones. _

Julia awoke, startled. Taking an almost relieved glance around the still dark room, she saw Isaac sleeping in his place while James was still at her side, the mechanical prosthetic gently wrapped over her stomach.

The scribe sighed as she realized the nightmares were starting.

–

Dawn brought overcast skies on the Hudson waters which the smoke from Lowell's cigarette mingled with. Both he and Adam stood at the end of the bow, silently staring ahead. Both either did not have anything to say at the moment or were simply too tired. However, they both suddenly noticed the shapes on the Western shore. Peering carefully, they suddenly realized the shapes were groups of people, perhaps more people than they had ever seen at once in their whole lives. They all appeared in a sorry state and were walking in the direction of Olsco and Kingston. They were heading south.

"You think this has something to do with that ghoul army you were talking about?" Adam asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Refugees fleeing an advancing force. This definitely does have something to do with the ghoul army." Lowell murmured.

Carl, who was behind them but still on the _Half Moon_'s foredeck walked up to the railing and brought his hands around his mouth, producing a make shift megaphone. The giant brought his powerful lungs to bear as he hollered to the refugees on the shore.

"Where you all coming from?! Where you all going?!" Carl yelled. There was some silence as the ship continued to glide up river, the people numbly shuffling south.

"What are you all doing?!" Carl yelled again. Finally, someone walked closer to the river bank and yelled back.

"We're all from around here! There's an army of ghouls coming from the north! We don't know if they'll go further north or south, but we can't stay there anymore! We're trying to find safety south!" the man yelled back.

"How big is this army?" Carl asked.

"Some say as big as the armies that clashed at Albany several years ago!" the man hollered before the _Half Moon_ brought them too away from each other to communicate any longer.

–

James' mind was burning. Just when he thought the phantom pain in his arm had hit its highest, he was proven wrong. His non-existent limb practically felt like it was going to gnaw itself right off. The agony was beyond excruciating.

Julia was gone taking a shower, leaving him to watch Isaac. The young infant looked around curiously, unaware of his adopted father's pain. James gritted his teeth as the fire in his mind brought him to his knees.

A Med-X would do nothing. There was no inflamed muscle in his prosthetic to put it in no matter how much his mind believed there was. Putting it anywhere else might numb him a little. It just might take the edge off...

No! He already had been a junkie once before. It all started with one mentat and it would start all over again if he did this. It would just be one Med-X. And then another. And another. No, he would not do that to Julia. He would not put the others at risk. They needed the drug for combat, not something burning in his head.

The glass syringe exploded in his right hand, spilling the fluid and drops of blood where the glass cut his flesh. Groaning, James hurriedly cleaned up the mess and his hand. Relieved they were only flesh wounds, he wrapped the wounds in bandages, hoping they would heal before any fighting happened.

–

Alexandra wracked her mind, trying to remember some outpost or landing along this strip. She had sunk too many caps into buffing the defenses on the _Half Moon_ to even consider selling it off. Of course, she could just charge that idiot Adam and his regulator cronies...

But that would have to wait if things came to a boil. She still wanted to do business the old fashioned, semi-honest way. The only reason she hesitated pulling along shore and trying to trade with the refugees was that she was afraid the ship would be swamped by desperate people trying to escape. At least there would be marginally more order at a landing, or at least so she hoped. With the amount of people on the shoreline, it did not look like the seven regulators would be able to maintain order for long, Liberators or not.

Alexandra sighed and let her dark hair fall in her face. Why did she even bother anymore? Why was she so set on trying to be a successful trader, other than the obvious caps? Yes, she told herself that caps meant survival and it was the only trade she knew how to do. Besides, she had to look out for her younger sister, Saffron.

"Contact, straight ahead, fast moving ship!" Carl yelled from the foredeck. Alexandra looked up to see a small V wake far ahead but it was moving on them fast. Alexandra squinted. Fast moving ships could mean anything but it was always better to err on the side of caution. She pulled out a pair of binoculars from the nearby counter and peered through the lenses.

Alexandra cursed no sooner did she see what was going on.

Carl, Adam and Lowell spun around when they heard the cabin door open only to find Alexandra yelling at them. The woman pointed a finger directly at the distant ship coming their direction.

"That's a fast yacht full of Shades!" Alexandra screamed. Lowell continued to look calm while Carl and Adam noticeably flinched.

"Are you sure?" Adam called back.

"You think I would forget those bloody hoods with the teeth colored on them?!" Alexandra screamed back. Adam immediately turned to Lowell.

"Get ready for a fight, I'm going to get everyone and assemble them on deck. We may have a fight on our hands." Adam told his friends.

"You think they're attacking us or do we have a chance to get them by surprise?" Lowell asked.

"It's hard to tell. I don't think there were any survivors from the last group we killed that knew we escaped with this ship. Just get ready. If we get the jump on them, all the better." Adam said before rushing off.

Closer to the cabin, Carl was standing ready with his gatling laser when he suddenly felt someone tapping his arm. He looked down and over to see Alexandra sternly staring up at him.

"You good with big weapons?" Alexandra demanded.

"Best one on the team." Carl replied simply.

"Good, follow me." Alexandra ordered and led him on the walkway above the cabin. The giant was led to what he had noticed earlier as a new addition to the ship but had been hidden under a green tarp. Alexandra furiously threw off the fabric to reveal a sizable gun with the proper ammo feeding mechanism.

"Whoa! What is it?" Carl asked in shock.

"No clue but the guy who I bought it off of told me it should be excellent for clearing people off ships, not destroying them. I only was able to buy 50 rounds and they're hard to come by so make them count." Alexandra answered.

What neither of them could know was that it was an old Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft flak cannon from before the war. Able to fire over a hundred rounds a minute, Alexandra could not have found a better deck clearer at long ranges.

"Open up, kill all those animals." Alexandra growled. Carl meanwhile grinned like a kid during Christmas. Carl seated himself in the gunner's chair and lined up his sights. He was well intent on making his shots count though he had to admit, coming from a guy who normally just sprayed, this was going to be a quantum leap in standard procedure.

Adam, James, Julia, Sven and Mina all appeared back on deck, armed to the teeth. Lowell motioned for them to calm down as their movement might startle the Shades on the yacht and give away any element of surprise they might have. Watching carefully, all the regulators noticed as the ship seemed to pull off towards a shallow section on the shore which, having now been spotted, seemed like a well used landing site.

They jumped with the sound of two explosions rattling the cabin.

Two dark clouds of smoke appeared over the Shades' vessel, the concussive blast raining shrapnel at high speeds over the heads of the Shades on the ship. The jagged fragments cut through anything soft, easily tearing the men to pieces. Though pockmarked by the attack, the small ship continued relatively unscathed before falling dead in the water.

Carl and the 40mm Bofor had annihilated the whole crew.

"Only two shots. Not bad, regulator." Alexandra murmured to Carl. The giant stepped off and gave her a hearty pat on the back.

"At two shots, that's the least amount of times I've fired a gun." Carl chuckled and walked off.

Alexandra glared at the wrecked ship and decided it was too small to be of any value, certainly not worth the effort to latch onto the _Half Moon_ and sell off. The river captain sighed with the passing thought that came to her. Perhaps it just was not worth it anymore.

–

Julia had just finished confronting Lowell on something. Back when they were patching Lowell and Mina up at Olsco, she had noticed three distinct scars going across Lowell's wrist. Even more disturbing was the fact that they looked like they had been slashed on more than one occasion. Even in front of his old childhood friend, Adam, Lowell had insisted that he was not suicidal. "I had a good reason at the time." Lowell explained.

Julia could not figure out what that good reason was, but she decided the answer would come soon enough. Like the answer to how her husband managed crush a syringe of Med-X in his hand.

Julia was just about to ask James to explain how that happened, which would explain why his hand was bandaged up, when her husband pointed her towards her makeshift radio receiver as he held Isaac in his other arm.

"What's wrong?" Julia asked.

"You're not going to believe it even if I tell you." James replied. Julia skeptically placed the headset on her ears and listened carefully.

"Julia Vanderbraun, I repeated, Julia Vanderbraun, are you on this channel? Over." a voice asked energetically. Both the Vanderbrauns were surprised. Why would anyone be specifically radioing for Julia?

"This is Julia Vanderbraun, over." the scribe replied carefully.

"Oh thank, God. Julia, this is Mark, we're in an old armory in the Bronx." Mark explained. Julia turned up the radio so that her husband could hear.

"Yes, I believe we've passed through that armory before." Julia replied.

"Did you guys ever notice that there's a terminal controlling a trap door on the bottom?" Mark asked. Julia shot a look at James who just shrugged in surprise.

"No, why do you ask?" Julia inquired.

"Could you walk me through hacking into it?" Mark asked. Julia smiled and helped the man get to work. After a couple quick moments, it sounded like they were just a step away from getting inside the system.

"Now I just hit enter and then..." Mark's voice trailed off when the radio was suddenly filled with the sound of mechanical joints coming to life as something heavy opening hit their ears. Over the radio, they distinctly heard Cindy make a cry of surprise.

"Ho-ly crap!" Norad let out.

"Mark? Mark, what's going on in there?" Julia demanded.

"Um...James, are you anywhere near the radio?" Mark asked hesitantly. James scooted over to the voice receiver.

"Yeah, I'm here, go ahead." James announced.

"Kiss your wife for me, or do whatever you married couples do these days. I got to go." Mark said quickly before the comm line went silent. Julia stared at James.

"What did they find?" Julia asked.

"I haven't a clue but whatever it is, it must have been good."

–

Having made it to St. Olivia's, the _Half Moon_ pulled up to the moorings and the men got to work. Lowell led Sven and Adam to the town hall were they expected to get information. Alexandra tried to see if there was any chance of getting a business deal in the area. Julia, Saffron, Ibrahim, Sufia and Isaac stayed on the ship while Carl and Rat joined James on his hunt to find anyone who might be suffering from the plague or could give some sort of information on it.

St. Oliva's was in a state of high alert. More of the gray coated Rangers patrolled the place and were practically fortifying the small town. Leftovers of the disillusioned soldiers whom Lowell fought with at the Albany war, these fighters were now simply hurling themselves in the most noble direction of the only thing they knew how to do. Still, Carl and James could feel the fear and discouragement bearing down on everyone. Rat could practically smell it.

At the town hall, Lowell blended in just a little bit more with all the other Rangers around. In fact, he bumped into his old comrades, Scotti Toye and Shelby Royeaux.

"Hey pal." a very tired Scotti greeted Lowell who simply nodded. Adam quietly analyzed the woman, a serious look constantly on her face while should length hair fell from her head. On her left hip sat a submachine gun much like his own.

"Who are the cowboys?" Scotti asked. Lowell pointed Adam and Sven out.

"Scotti Toye, this is Adam Anders and Slighty Psycho Sven." Lowell introduced, still unsure about what to do with Sven. Scotti cast a glance as the pyromaniac, still wearing his blast helmet, fire retardant duster, armored fuel and equipment laden backpack and heavy incinerator.

"I've seen stranger." Scotti finally said. Adam meanwhile offered to shake her hand. She stared at it for a moment.

"Forgive me if I don't shake hands." Scotti apologized before brushing the right side of her coat away to reveal an empty, knotted shirt sleeve. Her arm had been amputated awhile ago.

"You'll find it very awkward with me." Scotti explained. Adam simply nodded, a little embarrassed that he had not caught that.

"The Ranger over there is Shelby Royeaux." Lowell pointed out as the other Ranger did shake Adam's hand. The former assassin could not help but notice her carrying a heavily modified assault rifle, nearly changed beyond recognition and it looked like it was specifically altered to handle the startling length of ammo belts she kept on her person. Shelby meanwhile was paying more attention to Sven.

"Lift your mask up." Shelby told the pyromaniac. Sven hesitated a moment before doing as he was ordered. Shelby smirked with the sight of his face.

"I thought so." Shelby announced.

"Thought what?" Sven asked, mildly confused.

"I don't care what your history is, if you're timid or psychotic. I think you're cute." Shelby stated. Lowell and Adam glanced over at Sven who, oddly enough, was blushing.

"Uh...thanks." Sven muttered as the machine gunner walked away.

"She thinks I'm cute." Sven shrugged sheepishly to his friends. Lowell just shook his head. Adam rolled his eyes.

"Now I _have _seen everything...God help us all." Adam muttered.

Scotti then explained the situation to Lowell and Adam. The town was already over populated with other nearby communities cleared out from the fear of the ghoul army. That did not include any damage the plague was causing. The direction the scouts reported the ghouls coming from did not provide any good terrain to fight from. Simply put, they were going to be forced to find their own place to make a stand.

It was at that moment that a scout barged in. Lowell shook his head at how young the fighter look. No one should be drafted into a war before they were 18, if that age at all. This kid looked like he was 16.

"Whacha got, Private? Did you find the ghouls?" Scotti asked. The young man shook his head. Before he could speak, another soldier stormed in, a ghoul, his chest heaving as he fought for breath. The ghoul bent over before trying to give his report.

"I-I-I, found it...six miles to the west...The ghoul army...they've stopped, though." the scout explained. Adam was immediately ready.

"They stopped? Why?" Adam demanded.

"They're like me. Exhausted." the soldier explained. Scotti then turned to her first scout.

"What did you find?"

–

Scotti's scouts had been able to find a hidden utility door that sat at the side of knoll just outside of St. Olivia's. Usually such finds led to Vaults, Bunkers or other pre-war buildings that were a trove of equipment you usually could not find elsewhere in the wastes.

Unfortunately, it appeared that in between the scout finding it and the arrival of Scotti, Royeaux, Mina, Lowell and the Liberators, Shades and a group of mercenaries had also found it. The group had walked right in the middle of a firefight.

Scotti immediately started laying down a field of fire as well as Carl whose gatling laser sent red flashes towards the shrouded Shades. Mina and James did their best to pick off any of them who stood out. The other stayed out of fire and quickly advanced. At these large numbers, they could easily overwhelm most small fights.

Adam appeared over the ledge just in time to find the last band of Shades avoiding fire. Before he could do anything, he was surprised to find a man in black armor with a matching helmet and balaclava covering his face cutting down the last of their enemies. The stranger, though he appeared heavily armed, was slicing down the Shades with a katar, a blade that extended from a hidden device on his wrist. The last Shade cut down, the man stopped and, surprisingly, pulled out a mechanical counter and clicked it a few times.

"Should I thank you, or shoot you?" Adam asked the man, eyebrow raised. The stranger glanced at him, clearly armed with two pistols, a shotgun on his back and an assault rifle at the ready, and peered back at Adam through the balaclava with serious eyes.

"You can try to shoot me, but I doubt it would end well for you." the man stated, measuring Adam up. If he was intimidated by the others showing up, he did not show it. Adam meanwhile noticed the corpses at his feet. Black armored Talon Company soldiers, the men who the Shades were fighting. Both Lowell and Adam immediately raised their weapons at the man, both having very personal grudges against the mercenary group.

"I see these guys were literally stabbed in the back, but care to explain to me why you're wearing the same color but lacking the insignia?" Adam growled. The lone soldier simply shrugged.

"They got in the way. Besides, most people hire Talon Company but Talon Company hires me." the mercenary explained. No one in the group liked the sound of that.

"I say we riddle your sorry hide all over this ground here." Shelby announced.

"Your brain would explode first." the cornered man said. Sure enough, they noticed that he had secretly, and swiftly, trained one of his pistols in Shelby's direction from his hip.

"Look, he's not Talon Company per se and we have a bigger problem to deal with. Maybe we can just let him go, there's already going to be too much bloodshed within the next couple minutes." Julia announced though her plasma rifle stood at the ready.

"Perhaps it was that attitude that I should thank you for." a mysterious voice suddenly chimed in. Far to their left, a distortion appeared in their sight until a man wearing a strange suit suddenly cleared. Before anyone could react, the newcomer removed the helmet from his head. All of the Liberators squinted at him. Julia reacted first in the form of angrily aiming her plasma rifle at him.

"You're that Enclave agent!" Julia growled.

"And you're the Liberators...plus Rangers...plus this psycho over here..." Agent Daniel Siaga motioned towards the black armored man.

"...all caught in the path of a very large ghoul army." the Enclave Agent announced.

"You know this guy?" Lowell demanded of Adam.

"Not on good terms, if that's what you're asking." Adam replied.

"All right, we got some Talon-ish person on the right and an old 'friend' to our left who is telling us information we already know." James summed up, as if announcing his process of thinking.

"Whom I thought I told we'd kill if we ever saw again." Adam added.

"Right...I'm wondering if there's some connection here." James finished.

"Talon Company hired me to take out some bums called the Shades over here in New York. I'm from the Capital area. These Shades are giving them some unnecessary competition." the stranger informed.

"And what makes you believe we can trust you?" Scotti demanded.

"My kill counter?" the mercenary offered, offering the device with an obscene number on its display. Agent Siaga spoke up.

"Enclave sent me to investigate some anomalies happening in the area. I was investigating a plague-"

"That I'm sure you guys unleashed on the population." Julia snarled. Agent Siaga rolled his eyes.

"Trust me, I'm sure Intelligence _wishes_ they came up with this one. Unfortunately, my investigation led me to this ghoul army which kind of puts me in a bind. I'd say it would be better for all of us if we worked together to destroy this army and then we can all go our way without killing each other. That way we all leave happy and healthy and then we can just shoot each other at a later meeting." Daniel Siaga offered.

"Tell me one good reason why we should accept that offer." Julia demanded. James was a bit surprised on how belligerent his wife was being, but he decided there must have been some ridiculous hate affair between the Enclave and the Brotherhood.

"Because, my dear Scribe, if Command ever detects my vital signs read nil, they will drop an orbital strike on my position on account of all the technology on my person." Daniel explained.

"We could just toss him in the middle of the ghoul army." Sven suggested.

"We wouldn't have time to run away, Sven." Carl pointed out flatly.

"Oh. That _is_ mildly problematic." Sven agreed, nodding solemnly.

"With all of this is mind, I bring back my original proposition. No one kill each other, including you, what's your name?" Daniel demanded of the mercenary in black.

"Dawson. Dawson Philips." the stranger explained.

"Great, because vertibird flybys have suggested that there is a large number of ghouls out there. We're going to need all the help we can get." Daniel said.

"Care to tell us how many your Enclave buddies said were in that army?" Scotti demanded.

"Trust me, it's better that you _didn't_ know." Daniel answered. As they all walked off in a tense agreement, Daniel bit his lips, trying not to react to the comments of the mission operators from Enclave Command on his ear piece. Amid laughter, one of the operators sent a coherent message.

"Delta Sierra, one of the generals wishes to inform you that you have a very high opinion of yourself and the equipment you were issued and that if we _did_ have an orbital strike to spare on such a use, he would consider dropping it on you."

–

Mark, Cindy and Norad stared in awe as a giant behemoth of a machine appeared out of the armory floor. Bristling with weapons, the machine stood at just below two stories tall and was held up by a pair of robustly built walkers. Before any of them could react, they heard a stern and powerful artificial voice emitted from the robot.

"Phlegyas urban defense system operational. Objective: the defense of New York City and surrounding locals from all Communist threats, invasions and the pacification of large scale domestic disturbances and other emergencies...scanning area for possible threats...none detected...Phlegyas awaiting orders." the behemoth announced. Mark and Cindy continued to gape in awe.

"OOOOH-RAH!" Norad cheered.

* * *

_Author's Note: Dawson Philips is a character from AlphaOmega92's creation making a guest appearance on Half Moon. I claim no credit on him. The same goes for EasyCompany's Scotti Toye and Shelby Royeaux_


	17. Chapter 17

_While, like a ghastly rapid river,_

_Through the pale door_

_A hideous throng rush out forever_

_And laugh – but smile no more_

_-Edgar Allen Poe_

_

* * *

  
_

Mark and Cindy just could not believe the apparent raw power of the Phlegyas battle walker just by its sheer size and girth alone. The twin mechanical legs were heavily built and armored, robust in construction to give it both stability and unstoppable force. It's stout construction centered around a squat but just as solid, angular body that jutted out with a solid prow. One its top side were four weapons systems, twin missile turrets and minigun turrets. Protected under the prow were two gatling laser guns. It looked awkward and ugly, an oversized, triangular weapons platform but none could deny its sheer intimidating power.

"...What...is...it?" Cindy finally sputtered.

"It's a giant can of kick butt, that's what it is!" Norad announced.

"I believe it just called itself 'Phlegyas.'" Mark pointed out.

"Well, last I checked, the supermutants that chased us in here are still out there, so what say we see what this big guy can do?" Norad suggested.

"I'll buy that. Phlegyas, behind you is a door and beyond that are a bunch of hostiles we need eliminated. We're going to open that door, you think you can take out those hostiles?" Mark asked the machine. Last he counted, it had been about seven supermutants that attacked them.

"All hostile forces within the city limits will be pacified." Phlegyas announced.

"Ooo-rah, I like your attitude, soldier!" Norad cheered, hovering off to activate the massive folding door. Mark and Cindy immediately dove for cover as their over-enthusiastic Mr. Gutsy opened the door and immediately hostile rounds started bouncing off the Gutsy's armor. Norad started firing zealously with his plasma rifle.

"You are all going to die, you commies!" Norad hollered. Right behind the robot, Phlegyas rumbled into position, each step of the giant machine sending foreboding tremors through the streets.

"Hostile force detected...seven assailants on visual...assessing situation...lethal force only option!" Phlegyas announced.

The seven supermutants seemingly flash vaporized in a fury of 5mm rounds, laser bursts and a missile. Mark and Cindy breathlessly rushed up behind the robot to inspect the damage.

"Holy crap! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Cindy cried.

"We're going to need bigger enemies or this guy is going to make it too easy." Mark chuckled.

"Darn it, soldier! Save some for me!" Norad barked.

"Lethal force only option available to this Phlegyas model." Phlegyas answered.

–

The Liberators, Lowell, Mina, Scotti, Shelby, Dawson and the Enclave agent had entered the abandoned bunker shaft and were staring at a solid door. Unfortunately, the locking mechanism was a bit too complex for anyone on the team and the computer terminal had given up the ghost long ago. However, the dogged need to investigate anything behind any locked door that is drilled into anyone living after the war still goaded them. Still, they could not deny the fact that with the way things looked, that door was not going to budge with any of the common methods they usually resorted to. The group stared at the barrier in a moment's silence.

"I can get us in!" Sven suddenly declared grinning.

"NO!" the group answered in unison, even Dawson and the agent had picked up that it was not a good idea to leave the pyro to his devices with explosives.

"Sven, we have no idea on what is on the other side of that door. Besides, we might need anything that might be inside." Adam explained. Sven grumbled in response. Lowell meanwhile looked like he had an idea when he glanced over at Carl and the super sledge he had on his back. Carl picked up on it too. The giant grinned and hefted the heavy hammer.

"All right, big guy. Give us a door." Lowell encouraged.

The super sledge rose and fell a few times until finally the door simply flew off its hinges with a massive boom. The group eagerly filed into the room to see what was inside.

"Oooh, toys for everyone." Dawson announced.

–

The sentries at the House yawned as they stood watch over the defense ramparts. Usually, the House did not see much action as raiders understood it to be too well defended and gave it a wide berth. Gangs that did wander too close usually became target practice to House watchman recruits armed with rifles.

Their boredom was interrupted when they felt the earth briefly, slightly but distinctly shake.

"What was that?" one of the newer recruits asked.

"Can't be super mutants..." the veteran muttered.

"A behemoth?" another recruit cried in alarm. The distinctive rumbles were getting stronger and closer.

"Guys, look!" another sentry called out. Just out of range of most of their firearms, they noticed several raiders, distinctive in their patchwork, savage armor, running in a panic from some unseen force. Unsure, the sentries all hunkered down as they could feel the walls starting to shake, their eyes wide with terror.

The very next thing they saw was a Mr. Gutsy robot charging out into the open, yelling or complaining, possibly both. They could not tell from these distances. Quickly following the machine were two olive green duster clad regulators, clearly chasing after the raiders. And then came the grand appearance of a massive, walking war machine standing just below four stories, clearly bristling with weapons. The sentries could distinctly hear what the battle walker was saying.

"Battle analysis: soft Communist infantry. Numbers: two. Armed with small arms, chemical ballistic weapons, currently in route. Phlegyas Urban Defense System operating at optimal levels. Tactical assessment: all enemies are screwed." Phlegyas thundered.

The sentries watched as the two panicked raiders simply tossed their weapons and threw their hands in the air. As if they had not seen enough surprises for one day, they watched in shock as the regulators called off their two machines and took the surrendering raiders prisoner.

The sentries had mixed feelings of the Phlegyas battle walker suddenly turning in their direction.

–

The Liberators, Rangers and others had stumbled on an old garrison bunker built before the War which was designed as a shelter and refitting area for soldiers before the bombs fell. Now, the numerous rifles and ammo caches were just ripe for use. Sven was also pretty ecstatic over ten mini-nukes available.

"The old American government used places like this to refit small forces on the move, if an enemy invaded the east coast." Siaga explained.

"Well now it's going to help us win _this _war." Adam said.

"Hold the phone, kids. We need to plan this thing down to a 'T' before we go barreling at this shufflers." Lowell pointed out.

"Oh? And pray tell what do you have in mind, general?" Dawson demanded.

"All right sit down everyone." Lowell said. Once everyone did so he put a small piece of paper with several lines set up as the bunker, out in the center of the group.

"Right, as best as I can figure, they're not going to be running right at us, so we have to make them." Lowell explained.

"How will we do that?" Julias asked. Lowell only grinned.

"Leave that little problem to me. Anyway, once we get them here, we need to start the meat grinder. Sven?" Lowell then stared at the pyromaniac.

"How fast can you set up a good minefield?"

"Give me a couple hours and we'll be golden." Sven announced.

Next came the matter of what was to happen after the ghoul army managed to stumble through Sven's garden of shrapnel. Lowell announced he would be waiting in the bunker itself after the ghoul army was sent their direction.

"You're not seriously going to be in here when they throw the door down, are you?" Adam demanded. Lowell gave him a mischievous look.

"You're gonna be in there with me, pal." Lowell retorted. Adam paled.

"What!? Why me?" Adam demanded. Lowell ignored him.

"I'll also need Julia and Royeaux. We need to get these bastards tripping over each other in the tunnels." Lowell explained.

"I assume that's where the rifles will come into play?" Julia asked, pointing at the rack of rifles.

"That's right, we set one in each alcove, empty and drop it, then the first two run past the next two." Lowell explained

"And this process with repeat itself all the way back here." Scotti said.

"That's right. We lead them back here, and that's where Royeaux and Carl will keep shooting till they're out of ammunition. Then we take over as they reload."

"You do realize this place will be overrun? I suppose you have a plan for that too." the Enclave agent added, his arms folded in front of him.

"As a matter of fact I do. The escape tunnel, we'll bail out once it becomes clear that we can no longer hold this place." Lowell explained.

The last part of the plan, in the event they would not be able to hold it, was to have Sven rig the ten mini-nukes to detonate, collapsing the whole mountain on what they hoped would be the remnants of the ghouls. It seemed well and good, but the Enclave soldier had a comment to make.

"Vertibird flybys also confirmed that there were ghoul reavers in their ranks. I'd suggest that myself and perhaps your marksman find a post above the bunker and start picking them off. It would make your job easier." Daniel suggested.

"I can help too." Mina offered, holding her scoped rifle.

"And where do I fall into the plan?" Dawson asked, the dark shrouded mercenary in the balaclava asked. Lowell shrugged, clearly not hiding his disdain for the man.

"I don't know, where do you want to be?" Lowell demanded. The mercenary thought for a moment.

"You said that the two heavy gunners would be the last to hold out. I can stay here and offer fire support when the ghouls are inside. I'll be the last to leave. I have less equipment so I can more easily get out after them and trust me, I know how hold back a lot of hostiles." Dawson explained.

"Whatever floats your boat." Lowell muttered. He was surprised when Dawson suddenly patted his shoulder in a friendly manner.

"Thanks, buddy." Dawson said as if to a long time friend and then walked off. They stood in a tense silence for a moment.

"So do I rig the minefield or the mini-nukes first?" Sven suddenly asked. Daniel meanwhile shook his head and wondered what line of thinking convinced him to do this in the first place.

–

After Lowell and Adam traded a rather sobering conversation and James and Mina returned from helping Sven set the minefield, Mina trading a mildly disturbing conversation with Sven, the group feverishly got to work preparing their weapons. Carl had to make sure all the focusing mirrors in his gun were cleaned and aligned. Sven still had to set up the mini-nukes and, though no one asked, he seemed to set them up around the bunker in a rather strange pattern.

"No one shoot these." Sven announced though most of them considered it a given mode of operation.

While Julia was running supplies back to the _Half Moon_, James considered it a good time to settle something with the agent. Ironically, the two found themselves in the same room preparing their rifles. The Enclave agent was carrying a standard sniper rifle with an affixed silencer. James' own heavily modified rail rifle seemed bizarre in contrast.

"What's your name?" James suddenly demanded.

"I have no name." Daniel replied without missing a beat. James rolled his eyes.

"Fine, what should I call you?" the Liberator asked in exasperation.

"Delta Sierra." Daniel answered.

"Very well, Delta Sierra, I forgive you." James announced. Daniel shot James a quizzical look.

"Pardon me?"

"Look, I know most of the guys plus my wife don't take too kindly to you. Don't think I have a soft spot for you either, but the reality is, whatever your background is, you're still a human being. I've been catching up on my Bible reading. It says I should forgive my enemies. I already have enough crosses on my back. The least I could do is absolve you, and myself, of this one." James explained. Daniel was still staring at him like he had grown another appendage.

"Fine." Daniel shrugged.

"Furthermore, what do you know of this plague?" James added.

"How about we deal with this army first and then if we're alive I'll decide whether I want to give that information or not." Daniel muttered.

"Fine." James answered and walked out of the room only to be greeted by a bizarre sight. It appeared that Lowell had pistol whipped Dawson over the head, the mercenary's helmet absorbing the blow though it still got his attention.

"If you have the balls to look at her, you have the balls to look at me!" Lowell growled, pointing at Mina. James' raised an eyebrow.

"You ever look at her again, I'll disembowel you and leave you outside as a snack for the shufflers." Lowell growled. James was about to open his mouth, the last thing they needed was for the fire to start now when Dawson simply chuckled and patted Lowell on the shoulder again.

"If you say so, buddy." Dawson laughed and walked off to maintain his weapons.

–

Rat shuffled slowly if uncomfortably on the _Half Moon_'_s _deck. It had taken all the Liberators plus Mina bribing him with a little affection to get him to stay aboard the ship. At this point, all the regulators were beginning to feel the missions were starting to get too dangerous for their mascot. Though the little guy could not know it, he was becoming more of a liability than a benefit.

However, Rat found it rather agitating. Again, the last time he was separated from his friends he found them either dead or dying. Those humans just did not know how to look out for themselves. Why did they always insist on walking headlong into a dangerous situation? Rat's ears perked up when he heard the sound of the human cub expressing distress and immediately dashed off in its direction. He was a bit relieved to find that the cub was well attended by three of them, in this case Saffron, Sufia and Ibrahim. Sufia took the child in her arms and sat on one of the benches. Rat eagerly climbed up on the bench next to Sufia and stared at her. His eyes seemed to ask that if his other friends never came back, he wondered if Sufia would not mind adopting him. Then again, he never asked the Liberators for their permission and simply adopted them. He could do the same with Sufia. Still, Rat glanced nervously out the window.

He really hoped his friends would come back.

–

At the entrance of the bunker, the group watched the western skies as the sun set. Unfortunately, the normally calming sight of dusk was marred by the cloud of dust that steadily grew bigger with the approaching ghoul army. Both James and Daniel, Delta Sierra to the others, scanned what they could from the army but still could only see distant if distinct figures, the wretched forms of the ghouls approaching. Watching uncomfortably, idly leaning on his Chinese longsword, Adam looked over at Carl.

"I think this would be another good time for a prayer, preacher." Adam announced. Carl shook his head.

"I'm only sorry you thought of that before I did." Carl said. The Liberators had started this ritual a year ago just before the creature from the metro systems struck and it turned out to be a memorable experience. Once again, they got into their old stances. Carl spread his arms heavenward, Sven clasping his hands, Adam raising a hand as if to take an oath while James knelt on a knee and bowed his heads. Scotti and Shelby bowed their heads more out of respect. Surprisingly, the Enclave agent did the same. Julia followed James' example while Dawson and Lowell simply ignored the ritual for personal reasons. Mina simply watched out of curiosity. Carl started to voice the petition.

"Well um, God, seems like we got another big, violent storm coming our way. You've been kind enough to see us through a couple others so I'd ask you do it again. God, send your angels to keep us safe so we can keep the other people safe. Bring us all back home, God, safe and sound and uh, it would be great if you gave us a hand stopping these guys. Now, have mercy and take care of anything I may have forgotten to mention. Amen." Carl prayed. Mina watched in mild bewilderment as Sven ended his prayer with a "Booyah" instead of the traditional "Amen" accompanied with a punch to the air. James and Julia crossed themselves while Adam saluted. Mina was no theologian but she gathered that this was all mildly unorthodox. Still, she had to agree with Carl.

The group then proceeded back into the bunker to make a few final adjustments.

"I have enough time to make one more trip before nightfall. Anyone else want their things back on the _Half Moon_?" Julia asked. Lowell nodded.

"Mine and Mina's" the soldier announced, reaching down to retrieve the bags and then hand it to Julia. As he did so, something fell out of his bag and landed on the floor. Everyone stared at the object.

It was a teddy bear. Worn, faded, burnt and partially dismembered but a teddy bear no less. It was mildly jarring. Julia carefully picked it up. Even more shocking was the profound effect it had on Lowell. Unfortunately, it seemed to have a profound negative, painful, reaction on him.

"I would appreciate it if I could have that back, please." Lowell said quietly. Julia carefully handed it to him only to see the man take it gently. Adam stepped up to his old friend.

"Care to explain something, Lowell?" Adam asked. Lowell took a moment's breath.

"Yeah...yes, there is something to explain..."

–

The evening descends with the falling of the sun and as the moon rises, man is given another chance to contemplate the quiet spirits that speak to him. Memories that stir the emotions and beckon them back to the time when they first became. A former soldier tells his story, how he found love in a woman named Maria and joy in their daughter named Eleanor. A simple life, a touch of heaven, the only refuge he knew in this endless hell of every day life.

Until the shadows came and took their lives away.

He had turned his back for just one brief moment in time and everything was burned away. A squad of dead Talons executed among the burning ashes of his former home. His wife, her beauty forever gone, burned and crucified in a mockery of her faith, on a forlorn telephone pole. His daughter nowhere to be found.

And only a charred and ruined teddy bear, the only thing to remember them by.

Because even the hardest of men were also children once. Even they, even if only rarely, remember to cry.

--

Lowell had the group up and ready early the next morning. Just beyond the bunker, the former soldier had seen the ghoul army ready to descend on them. They just needed to be prodded. Within the bunker, an Enclave agent, a mercenary, one adolescent, three Rangers and the five Liberators made ready.

Outside, among the ghoul horde was an angry soul. Once known by the name Sheldon, the angered ghoul held onto what little coherent thought he had left. The other ghouls within the army had learned from his examples and many of them started carrying weapons. He himself stepped between sanity and burning anger. Setting his sights at a doorway built into the mountains, the ghoul's already wretched face stretched into a snarl.

A sea of rage was about to crash on a forlorn hope of fallen angels and flawed heroes.

* * *

_Author's note: If you want the full story on Lowell, drop again over to EasyCompany506's Fallen Angels_


	18. Chapter 18

_Author's note: Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing for their support, encouragement and general awesomeness. As for the details on the stories, I can only say that keep reading, the story will explain itself._

_

* * *

  
_

_We will stand in front of danger_

_Walk through fire and irradiated hail_

_We will fight without regards to our own_

_For we know something greater than us is at stake_

_Our lives we give to those who would not care_

_There is something bigger here_

_We are broken saints_

_The darkness stops here_

_

* * *

  
_

The House was divided again.

Out in the courtyard of the House, Mark, Cindy and Norad faced off Supervisor Ramirez, a good part of the security team and several House residents. Cowering in the middle of them, bound and looking rather nervous were the two raiders. Their fate hanging in the balance, they did not seem thrilled with either option.

"Reformed raiders are few and far between and there are too many people here for me to just let these fresh off the street murderers to be taken into the House." Ramirez argued. Many of the residents and security team agreed. Others were calling for a mildly more merciful if almost certain death warrant of being used as bait on the Mirelurk hunting crews.

"If we are going to turn these people into contributing members of society, we must show them how to function in an actual society. The House represents the best that New York City has." Mark argued.

"I'm sorry, regulator. Go find someplace else." Ramirez stated.

"Just shoot them now and get it over with. You know they're just going to murder someone inevitably." a resident shot. Mark scowled.

"Look, I'll have my Mr. Gutsy keep them under constant surveillance. Then won't even be able to go to the bathroom without his noticing." Mark argued.

"What?! You're going to have me babysitting these pansy-"

"Shut up, Norad, and do as you're ordered." Mark snapped.

"You think your robot will be enough?" Ramirez asked skeptically. Mark bit his lips. He was told the supervisor would be difficult. He glanced over at Cindy.

"And I'll have my colleague over here stay on hand to watch them while myself and the larger machine continue our patrols on the streets." Mark added. Now Cindy shot him a look.

"Mark...what the heck...?" Cindy hissed quietly.

"And why her?" someone on security asked. Mark did not hesitate.

"Because I was a former raider. She rehabilitated me. She's the expert." Mark bold faced lied, passing the faintest of glares back at Cindy. The woman fell silent and solemn.

"Don't do this...not me..." Cindy mouthed. Mark simply ignored her, ordered the gatekeeper to open the way. With that, Mark stepped out to join Phlyegas. The two walked away into the night. Meanwhile, Cindy and Norad stared at the closed gates while the raiders loitered around numbly.

"This is a complete travesty!" Norad complained.

"Um...I have to go the bathroom..." one of the raiders announced quietly.

"Shut up." Cindy barked, still staring blankly at the gate.

–

Outside, an army of enraged ghouls were just barely on the doorsteps. Inside, the 11 people were left to their own feelings. Both the Enclave agent and Dawson readied their weapons and clicked off their safeties. Shelby Royeaux and Scotti Toye got to their stations. The Liberators simply stared ahead, steel faced. Mina did her best to look as brave as the rest of them.

Lowell, oddly enough, was throwing off his armor.

"What are you doing?" Adam demanded.

"Adam, I can run much faster without the 20 pounds of extra fat." Lowell explained. The three marksmen, Daniel, James and Mina, walked past them, out the door and took up their position above the bunker.

"I'm counting on you, Mina girl! Don't miss!" Lowell called after her. Lowell motioned for Sven to follow him as he also exited the bunker as he prepped his own weapons.

"Sven, like I said last night, I want you to show me where to run through. I'm not interested in losing a leg here." Not wearing his mask, he saw Sven's face change into a sly look.

"Trust me, it's not a leg you'd lose if you stepped on one of those hot potatoes." Sven replied while discreetly pointing out a straight path through the field.

"Thanks, thanks a lot, Sven." Lowell muttered sarcastically, starting to walk off.

"Oh, one last thing, you can't use any of the explosives or fire in the bunker. The napalm would choke us. The explosives might set off one of the mini-nukes." Lowell reminded. Sven didn't appear happy but agreed.

"Right, strictly the shotgun." Sven nodded.

Lowell walked down the slope towards a small rise. Just beyond the little hill was all that stood between them and ghoul army.

Lowell intended to tick every single one of them off.

Waiting above the bunker, James, Daniel and Mina watched the increasingly shrinking figure of Lowell reach the appropriate destination, a cloud of dust rising from where the ghoul army was like smoke rising from the abyss of hell.

"Any chance you could call a vertibird strafing run on them before Lowell gets there?" James demanded.

"Contrary to what you may believe, we are short of resources, regulator." Daniel retorted.

"Just one lousy flyby?" James inquired.

"No." Daniel sent back.

The suddenly heard a distant boom. Looking up, they noticed a darker cloud rising from beyond the rise. The dust cloud intensified.

"Well, it looks like Lowell got their attention." Mina stated.

"I don't see the intelligence of deliberately angering feral ghouls." Daniel muttered.

"Well, that's because you don't know Lowell Morgan." Mina grinned. James was concentrating, staring through his scope.

"Shhhh..." James whispered to them. He had to track down the Ranger before he started firing, if only to make sure he was not in the line of fire. It would certainly be encouraging to know that Lowell had not got eaten or something.

"Got him. Three points to the west." James announced. The others centered their scopes and started choosing their targets."

"He must've really angered them by the way he's running. Now remember, look for reavers. The more of them we take, the less we have to deal with later." Daniel reminded.

"Time to get to work." James said quietly as his rifle screamed.

–

Lowell was not fazed by the rifle shots, heavy nails and muffled rounds flying over his head as he sprinted back towards the bunker. He still had a good lead on them and as for rounds flying over his head, it wasn't anything he had not dealt with back in the Albany Wars.

What was a little cause for concern, however, were the balls of fire flying over his head. Looking up, Lowell realized that Sven had found a little loophole in his instructions. The pyromaniac, completely unable to help himself, had taken out his heavy incinerator and was laying down yet another hazard field for the ghouls. Pockmarking the ground behind Lowell with splashes of napalm, the densely packed ghouls would have to navigate the carpet of burning fire before they unknowingly crashed into a garden of death.

The ghouls, though enraged, were still hot on Lowell's heels.

"Time to move." Daniel calculated and headed back down towards the bunker. Mina left her position next while James stood up and fired off one more heavy bolt. Daniel helped Mina down and shooed her off into the bunker before both he and James disappeared into the shelter. Right behind them, Sven and Lowell were hurrying towards the entrance.

Everyone in their place, Sven rushed towards the back while Lowell slammed the doors shut and locked them, sealing them inside. As if to drive the point home, he pulled out his 44. Magnum revolver and shot off the opening mechanism. There would be no going out from that direction. Outside, they heard the muffled explosions of the land mines going off. Sven let a dark and wry smile cross his face. At least one of them was happy.

Adam took his place next to Lowell and waited. The heavy door was sprouting dents. Each passing minute becoming more grotesque as the ghouls worked their hardest to throw down their defense. Before they knew it, the hinges were about ready to come off. Everyone continued to wait.

Dawson started to chuckle.

"What's up with you?" Daniel demanded, still peering through the scope of his Infiltrator rifle.

"Haha...don't you know how wonderful it is to splatter a single ghoul's blood and flesh with several well placed rounds? Now imagine how much fun a whole army will be." Dawson replied. Agent Daniel Siaga sighed.

_"Great, I'm stuck in a iron can with ten armed nukes, a room full of my enemies of which includes five who are known for their fighting prowess, one of which is a crazy pyromaniac and then a homicidal psychopath. Oh, and an army of ghouls right out side...I know I've been in worse situations before, I just can't quite remember at the moment..." _

–

Rat had a weird manifestation of separation anxiety. It involved the ceaseless need to climb on things. He got chased off the tables by Alexandra, shooed out of the kitchen counters by Saffron, glared off the railings by Ibrahim and gave Sufia a fright when she found him hanging on an open door, back claws firmly holding onto the top of the door while his front paws firmly planted himself in the middle of the door. Rat calmly looked at her and tilted his head as if wondering why she was giving him a frightened look. After the Muslim woman gathered herself together, she calmly stepped forward and gently pushed the door aside, ignoring the rodent still giving her questioning looks.

Rat promptly shrieked in pain when the door closed next to the wall, pinching his tail. Sufia cried out as well, more out of fright again than anything else.

Rat landed on the floor and rolled back onto his paws, shaking off his coat as he chattered to himself. The rodent shuffled past a very perplexed Sufia. As the disgruntled rodent made his way through the hallway, he wondered what it would be like to climb the ship's cabin.

–

The plan was going flawlessly. That did not mean that it was a tiptoe through the tulips. A small fortune in ammunition and assault rifles had been discarded onto the floor while a horrendous carpet of broken ghoul bodies covered the bunker. The fighters had collapsed to their last stand, Adam and then Lowell retreating in a rush over a barricade of piled lockers. Waiting for them was Carl and Shelby Royeaux with her heavily modified assault rifle affectionately named "Rumbler." Lowell safely behind them, the two heavy weapons experts unloaded into the ghouls, still desperately trampling over the fallen bodies of those that had gone before them.

Flying lead and beams of red energy tore through the ghoul numbers like hot knives through butter. The heavy weapons made it seem too easy as fragments of flesh and bodies were simply torn or sheered from each other. For five minutes, the sounds of carnage did not cease for a moment.

Finally, Carl's electron charges ran out. Shelby's Rumbler had gone for as long as it could go, the barrel becoming too hot to fire any more rounds. The two stepped to the side and retreated, allowing the others to open fire.

Julia's plasma rounds painted brilliant flashes of neon green while both Scotti and Adam fired with their SMGs. Sven's pump action shotgun cut down whole swaths of the ghouls while James made deliberate head shots with his plasma pistol, his shortblade out just in case. Daniel fired his Infiltrator with deadly and silent proficiency.

Dawson seemed to be having the time of his life. His shotgun belching death above his malicious chuckles, if it was not for the fact that the Liberators were already used to working with Sven, they would have given him a wider berth.

"I thought this would be more difficult!" Dawson cackled.

Indeed, the ghouls seemed to cease appearing. Some in fact seemed to be readily stepping away from the entrance of the door. In one sudden, bizarre realization, they find out that there were suddenly no more ghouls.

It had happened too quickly. Something was wrong.

"What?" Julia breathed, peering into the empty space. More silence as they listened to their hearts gallop in their chests.

Something suddenly roared in the dim light. Lowell peered hard through the shadows.

"What the hell-"

The barricade of lockers seemingly exploded like so many flung toys. This included everyone hiding behind them who desperately rushed to gather their senses. Getting back to their feet, they quickly found out what had thrown them like a bunch of rag dolls.

Standing and bellowing just above Carl's height was a massive, heavily built ghoul. Cancerous growths swelled its body into thick limbs while an enraged mind screamed in a torrent of blind fury. Having found its quarry, the towering monster leaned back and let out a roar that seemed to rattle the walls.

Sven and Lowell fired their shotguns. The combined torrent of pellets were absorbed by the tumors while the Ghoul giant glared at them and bellowed, baring its teeth as it prepared to strike. Even Sven looked a bit taken aback.

Adam drew his new Chinese longsword and pounced from the shadows. The assassin could have sworn that his blade drew blood, and perhaps he did not hallucinate the sight of his sword plunging into the creature's arm. What was indisputable was that the ghoul backhanded him and he ended up crumpled next to a wall with the wind knocked out of him.

Dawson charged and just before he could pull the trigger the ghoul also shoved him back. The mercenary crashed against the far wall. Shaking his head, Dawson growled in frustration, pulled out his two pistols and started firing blindly into the beast.

The titan seemed about ready to charge and maul the rest of them when Mina somehow managed to pounce on the giant ghoul's back and climb up its spine. Her fingers dug into its shoulders, the ghoul only had one moment to try and fight her off.

And suddenly, Mina bit deep into the ghoul's neck, blood spilling from the wound.

Mina did not even gag. She _drank_.

Before they knew it, the brute was dead on the floor, Mina finally grimacing as she wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her duster.

"I never liked the taste of ghouls." Mina admitted. She looked up to find everyone, with the exception of Lowell, staring at her in varying degrees of blank looks, disgust or pure, unadulterated shock.

"And I thought I was unique. All six of me." Sven muttered.

James suddenly ducked, an ax growing into the wall where his head had been. The marksman got back up and furiously retaliated with his pistol, flash vaporizing a ghoul's head.

"I'll explain later, just get Adam and Dawson out of here!" Lowell ordered, taking command. Sven and Carl dragged out the mildly wounded Dawson who, despite being towed, still had his shotgun shouldered.

"Come on you ghoul dogs! I'll blow the heads off of each and everyone of you sorry-"

"Save it, son." Carl interrupted the mercenary.

Mina and Julia were the first to go through the escape tunnel, Scotti dragging a still winded Adam followed them. Carl and Sven went right behind them, still dragging the battle crazed Dawson. Daniel folded the stock of his Infiltrator and made his exit.

"Good luck." he told the three still in the room.

Shelby had been holding off the renewed waves of ghouls as she walked back towards the exit. She did not notice her ammo belt suddenly run through the chamber until she heard that ominous _click_.

"Lowell, I'm running dry!" Shelby called back. Lowell looked up and glared.

"Royeaux!" the soldier shouted in warning. Shelby turned just in time to find a ghoul charging her with a machete.

Lowell and James could only watch as the machete passed through her neck.

Lowell retaliated by putting the ghoul out of its misery. James glanced down at Shelby, saddened to find her still gasping. The medic gritted his teeth as he leaned down, trying to figure out where to start first. Her blood was starting to stain her hair on the floor.

"James, get her out of here." Lowell ordered, firing another shot into the approaching ghouls.

"Lowell, you can't stay in here." James replied, trying in vain to staunch the bleeding by binding Shelby's neck with bandages.

"Now!" Lowell shouted, prompting James up. James sighed as he swiftly picked Shelby up.

"Godspeed, good luck." James told Lowell as he dashed towards the escape shaft.

The medic furiously thought on what to do. Shelby was still wheezing and gasping in his arms. Part of him did not want to look at her. That would risk seeing her eyes. The eyes of the dying, he learned a long time ago, tend to haunt you long after.

"Please calm down, try to relax." James told her as calmly as he could. If she calmed down, her heart rate would slack which would then mean less of her blood would gush onto his coat. This would buy them just a few more seconds to figure out what to do.

James stumbled out of the hatchway and deposited Shelby on the ground. Julia and Scotti immediately came up to him.

"Oh God, what happened?" Scotti asked.

"Ghoul, machete, Julia, get your packs, lacerated jugular." James panted, immediately getting to work.

"Where's Lowell?" Adam asked, nursing a wound on his shoulder.

"He should be coming." James answered quickly. Sven looked at Adam as the pyromaniac was holding the all important remote detonator. The moment he saw anyone, _anyone_, Lowell or ghoul, he was going to hit the button. The could hear the screams and yells echoing out of the hatchway.

"James, her pulse has stopped!" Julia warned, a finger on Shelby's wrist. James checked the bags. There had to be more options. Why didn't they have blood bags? Belatedly, James realized they had run out some time ago and were unable to stock up. His mind fell to a rather desperate option, a field resuscitation procedure that came at a great risk but should be done when all other options ran out. James pulled out a stimpack.

"James, that won't help." Julia warned.

"Not unless I do this right." James replied and plunged the needle deep into Shelby's chest where he hoped he hit the right point on Shelby's heart. The medic pushed the piston down and waited.

Shelby made another shaky gasp before becoming weak again, her frightened eyes glancing around.

"Jump started her heart. The fluids in the stimpack will buy us some time We have to hurry." James explained. They suddenly heard noises coming from the hatchway. Julia and James ignored it while Adam and Daniel trained their firearms at the hatchway.

They looked over just in time to see Lowell and a ghoul tumble out of the hole, Lowell immediately snapping the ceature's neck.

"Lowell, get out of the way of the hatchway!" Sven shouted. Lowell looked over to find Sven with his blast helmet on, his hand holding a remote detonator. Lowell jumped out of the way and used his body to shield the nearby Mina from the impending blast.

Truth be told, their ears could not process the overwhelming explosion. The ten mini-nukes went off simultaneously, unleashing so much force under the hill that it sunk the earth several inches while the group were actually tossed into the air for a moment. The fire that did fly out of the hatchway singed a few of Lowell's hairs.

And then, other than the rolling echoes of the explosion thundering in the distance, all was quiet, a mushroom cloud of smoke and fire rising over their heads into the sky. Quietly, Daniel spoke into his comm link.

"Athena, this is Delta Sierra, requesting an aerial flyby on the area. You should see a mushroom cloud. Are there any remaining ghouls on the ground? Over." Daniel waited a moment before a feminine voice responded.

"Delta Sierra, this is Athena, we do not have a visual on any ghouls, I repeat, no visual on any ghouls, over."

"Very good, Athena. You are dismissed. Over and out."

The group looked over to where James and Julia were frantically working to save Royeaux. The two medics said nothing as they did their best to save the woman's life. The two forced themselves to think, obligated by their professions to try and bring the woman back from the brink.

The harsh reality was that they knew that wounds like these were not treatable.

Soon thereafter, Shelby Royeaux slipped into eternity.

–

Francis stepped into one of the many rooms of the Vault. The Liberators had stumbled onto one of the more extensive ones and even they admitted that they simply had not had time to thoroughly explore and log everything they had in inventory. Francis was desperately searching for something he had hoped would be in here.

Slipping inside a room where some of the more essential supplies would have been kept, the old regulator examined the shelves and boxes. Still searching, Francis diligently swept through the room several times. Finally, the man seemed to slump as it appeared he did not find what he was looking for. Sighing, the man stepped out of the room and closed it behind him.

"No GECK." Francis grumbled.

–

Dawson whistled energetically as he ambled down the hills back west towards the Capital region. He hoped that within a couple more miles he would be able to find a secure place to spend the night though if he was forced to make an evening march, it would only provide more opportunities to kill stuff. No problem with that. He was proud of himself for having been able to slip away from the Liberators and Rangers unnoticed.

Still, it had been a lot of fun.

In between the sound of his whistling was a constant, mechanical _click_. Dawson's kill counter kept going up as he mentally recounted each kill he had made with the past adventure.

--

The group were still trying to pick up the pieces after the battle though they were slowly wandering back to St. Olivia's. Lowell had gone on ahead of them to bring Shelby's body to be tended to. Sven and Carl walked back with Scotti. Despite what people would have thought, Sven was not carrying on, which might have been odd considering he just detonated the second largest explosion in his life. The others had learned that when he was silent after an explosion, he was taking a stroll down memory lane recalling the very first explosion that started them all. Of course, everyone was also still trying to process the new fact that Mina apparently had a need for blood.

James and Julia were having a mildly tense discussion with the agent who called himself Delta Sierra. James made sure to put himself between the agent and his wife. He wasn't sure if Julia appreciated it or was infuriated with him since she wanted to strangle the Enclave operative. Perhaps it was a mixture of both.

"Tell me, what do you know about this plague?" James demanded again without introduction.

"That's classified intelligence, Liberator." Daniel said. James glared at him but suddenly noticed Daniel handing him a protected holotape while pointing at his communication link. James and Julia immediately understood. Command was still listening to him.

"I guess I should give you the credit for helping us." Julia muttered. This time, Daniel shot her an offended look.

"You Regulators think you have the market on trying to bring back order and civilization to the wastes, you and the Brotherhood of Steel. What do you think the Enclave is trying to do?" Daniel demanded.

"You just happen to have a small value of human life and don't seem to mind killing others in the process." Julia retorted. Daniel sighed.

"I cannot speak for all the actions we do. Besides, not every branch of the Enclave is the same, just as each branch of the Brotherhood comes in its own flavor. The West Coast, Midwest and Capital Region Enclave have different ways of operating. The New England branch is just as different." Daniel argued.

"You're still the only Enclave we've seen do something...you know....good." Julia pointed out with mild sarcasm.

"Well, you're the only Enclave agent we know on less than shoot on sight terms." James muttered. Daniel suddenly laughed.

"Hahaha...oh dear, I know my superiors called him the 'Old Fox' but it seems like he hasn't lost his touch." Daniel chuckled. James and Julia glared at him. Adam joined it.

"What are you talking about?" Adam demanded. Daniel placed his helmet back on and looked at them.

"Don't be so stupid and put it together. You've been taking orders from an Enclave man ever since you put on those dusters." The regulators glared at him in silence. Adam looked like he was about to say something but Daniel put a hand up to stop him.

"Now you see me..." Daniel started.

"Now you don't." and with that, Delta Sierra disappeared.

* * *

_Author's Note: Dawson Philips belongs to AlphaOmega92. Scotti Toye, Shelby Royeaux, Mina Jordan and Lowell Morgan still belong to EasyCompany506. Much of this chapter was written with EasyCompany506's help. _


	19. Chapter 19

"_The course of true love never did run smooth."_

_-William Shakespeare_

_

* * *

  
_

Alexandra sat with what seemed to be her permanent sour disposition in the cabin. She had practically started setting root in there after constantly manning the helm. It was certainly more boring now with the _Half Moon_ anchored but it was better than being out in the town that seemed to be constantly looking over its shoulder in the event of an attack. Even Ibrahim and Sufia remained on the ship as if there was some unspoken agreement that should a ghoul army ever appear in town, the first thing they would do was pull up anchor and throw off their moorings to flee.

Alexandra gasped in shock when Rat suddenly appeared on the cabin glass, front paws pressed into the smooth surface while his nose flattened as he looked inside to see her. After realizing it was indeed no danger, Alexandra scowled at the creature. His ceaseless need to climb things was getting out of hand. She was about to chase the rodent, _again_, when both of them turned towards the direction of St. Olivia. They could hear cries and cheering of joy and triumph.

Even Rat squeaked in happiness when he realized what that could only mean. Of course, in his excitement, the rodent lost his footing and fell, landing on the deck, chattering in frustration again. Alexandra left the wheelhouse and stood next to the railings where Saffron, Sufia who was holding Isaac, and Ibrahim were also watching on. Rat did not cast them a second glance, rapidly scampering towards the gang plank and out onto the docks.

"I take it that means the Liberators are victorious again." Sufia said before trying to tease a smile out of Isaac, bouncing the baby gently.

"Perhaps the stories are true, eh sis?" Saffron inquired of her sister. Alexandra simply stared blankly.

"Well, if the people are going to celebrate, break out the supplies. Who knows, we may be able to run a profit tonight." Alexandra ordered.

–

St. Olivia's, flooded with refugees, Rangers with frayed nerves, and generally exhausted inhabitants were overjoyed to hear that the explosion they had seen in the distance was a sign that their defenders had been victorious. Quietly, respect was paid among those who knew that Shelby Royeaux had paid the ultimate price for the village's freedom. An expendable ship was found and after a short funeral, the boat was set alight, the people watching on in quiet remembrance...

No one was told of the Enclave's or mercenary's involvement. Instead, after the funeral, a general atmosphere of celebration settled on the town. Even the fatigued Liberators, Lowell, Mina and Scotti got a second wind at the sight of so many rejoicing people.

The group's amusement was amplified when Rat stumbled into their midst.

"You know, I could use with a little fun." Adam announced, looking around.

"You know what I want? I want some mirelurk cakes. Or something sweet. Or tasty. Oh for crying out loud, I'm just hungry. I'm gonna eat out." Carl declared. Sven just cackled but he looked like he also wanted to spend the night out.

"I'm up for that." James nodded. Julia promptly tapped his shoulder and whispered into his ear.

"I think we should spend some time with our son." the scribe reminded. James' intentions pulled a 180.

"Erm, actually, I think I'll just spend the night at the _Half Moon_. You guys have fun." James said quickly, following Julia back to the ship. Adam shook his head.

"The guy gets married and after only one year she's got him under lock and key."

"True story." Carl agreed.

"So I guess have fun while you're still single. With wonderful, glorious napalm!" Sven snickered. The others rolled their eyes.

"So, where should we start first?" Adam asked, looking at Lowell, Scotti and Mina.

–

While Saffron jovially manned the impromptu stand of goods to be sold on the docks, a smile always on her face, James, Julia, Sufia and Ibrahim relaxed on a bench on the _Half Moon_'s deck. Julia kept a mostly content Isaac sitting in her lap while the four traded small talk.

"So did you two ever find that place you were searching for?" Julia asked the brother and sister. Sufia noticeably lowered her features.

"Unfortunately, no." Sufia admitted. James was gently trying to get one of his real fingers from Isaac's apparently strong grasp.

"No? Perhaps you could look at the map we gave Alexandra to help her navigate. Perhaps it's listed on there. It's certainly the most exhaustive map of New York I've ever seen." Julia suggested.

"We did." Ibrahim informed.

"Couldn't find it. It would certainly help if we could only remember the place we were looking for." Sufia explained.

"Hmm, that is difficult..." Julia murmured.

"So are you guys still wandering while you hope to find the place?" James asked.

"That's the plan...that's always been the plan..." Ibrahim grumbled dejectedly. The two siblings did not seem to like the idea but it appeared that was all to life they knew of.

"We worked out a deal with Alexandra. She'll give us a little pay so long as we help out on ship and we have been doing so. She even said that once they give us more training on what to do, the more she'll add onto our pay. We've all just been really busy lately." Sufia said.

"Why are you trying to find this place anyway?" James asked.

"Our parents were looking for this place before they died. They said it was important though they never really explained why." Sufia stated.

"Cost them their lives too." Ibrahim muttered. Sufia shot him an unhappy look.

"Hey, just be glad we got out of it. There are some days I almost wish Allah took me then-"

"Ibrahim, just...be quiet." Sufia shot angrily and left. James and Julia sat quietly, not quite sure how to intervene. Ibrahim sighed and shook his head.

"I'm sorry about that...we just keep getting back to that argument. Don't get me wrong, I love my little sister and if I had not survived the storm, neither would have she. It's just, well, mom and dad died in the storm. I became a ghoul in it." Ibrahim explained. James glanced at him.

"Irradiated frost if I might ask?" James asked.

"No. Irradiated snow."

–

They say fishermen tell tall tales. Adam learned from Carl that there was an element of truth to that. The giant was entertaining a small crowd of some of their other exploits, everyone wanting to know what the real story about the Liberators was. Adam snickered on some of the details that got just a little bit embellished. Sven hung out with Carl, providing sound effects where necessary.

Most of the sound effects he was providing involved explosions.

Adam himself was debating between whiskey or scotch since he was a fan of the two but eventually decided on the whiskey. He personally wanted to quietly sip the evening away. His still throbbing arm where the ghoul got him was putting a damper on horsing around anyway. He was kind of glad Lowell did not seem all that energetic either. Both of them traded small talk at the outdoor stand that was currently rolling in caps from all the need to celebrate and buy anything pleasant.

"Sorry about Shelby." Adam muttered to his friend. Lowell took a sip from his drink and sighed.

"We all should have died back at Albany. Now we're just hunting for a death wish. It's probably better this way for her." Lowell muttered.

"You've certainly picked up the depressing attitude." Adam replied.

"Maybe one day I was an optimist...that died sometime after Albany though, and speaking of dying, that woman looks like she wants to drown her liver." Lowell said, pointing down the counter.

"Why do you mention it?" Adam asked.

"Well, I don't think James can fix the liver of your ship captain. You might want to talk to her." Lowell replied. Adam looked over to find out that it was Alexandra.

"Geez, now I'm her babysitter." Adam mumbled, walking off. Lowell cast him a glance, looked at Adam's drink, shrugged and decided to take a sip from his friend's. That done, he headed off towards the _Half Moon_.

Adam painfully hobbled onto the chair next to Alexandra, his muscles apparently going stiff from the day's beating. He seriously was starting to believe he should start demanding a raise from Francis. Earning the legendary status of "Liberator" was starting to come at an equally legendary price.

"Perhaps you should go easy on that. I'm sure Carl's seen people drown drinking less water than the alcohol you're shooting down." Adam suggested. He internally braced himself for the impending argument.

Alexandra simply put down the bottle of alcohol and sighed.

"You're probably right, but what's the point?" Alexandra sighed dejectedly. Adam glanced over at her in alarm.

The woman was not arguing with him. She actually agreed with him. Something was seriously wrong.

"All right, Alexandra, what's bothering you?" Adam asked. The merchant glanced at him, looked back at her bottle and suddenly burst into tears. Adam's shoulders slumped.

_"Darn it, where's James or Carl when you need them? They do better with this talk, feel good, emotional stuff." _

–

Mina, staying close to Carl and Sven, noticed a vendor selling Nuka-Cola. Her pockets recently full with the donations of grateful citizens, she decided she could afford to treat herself to one of the drinks. Making sure that at least Carl had an eye on her, she walked up to the vendor, Rat following closely behind her.

"Excuse me sir, may I have one Nuka-Cola please?" Mina asked. The merchant glanced down at her.

"Hey, aren't you with those Rangers that defeated the ghoul army?" the merchant asked. Mina smiled though she tried to hide it.

"Well, that really does not matter, sir-"

"No, I insist. You can have this Nuka-Cola Quantum on the house. I'll charge you for anything else after that." the merchant offered jovially, caught up in the festivities. Mina could not turn it down.

"Thank you, that's very generous of you, sir." Mina answered and walked off. She had never had one of the Quantums before and she was rather fascinated on how it was glowing. She felt Rat pawing on her pant sleeves and found that the rodent himself was also quite mystified.

"Haha, all right, you can have the first sip." Mina laughed, popping the bottle and turning it so Rat could lap up the liquid a bit.

Mina watched in surprise as Rat first started twitching, then scampering in circles around her, ceaselessly squeaking energetically. At one point, he almost seemed to be hopping around her, practically demanding what she wanted to do next. Mina cast a cautious glance at the bottle.

"Um...maybe I'll save this for later..."

"_Squeak! Squeak! Squeak? Squeak! Squeak! Yip? Squeak!" _

–

Alexandra had quite the sob story to tell. Adam thought it best to walk her away from the bar and back towards the ship. He understood that when he was about as plastered as she was at the moment, the best thing to do was walk away and get some rest before they sunk their system in alcohol to any more dangerous levels.

"Y-you see...the reason why I get so...mad at you is..." Alexandra was slurring and stuttering. Adam had resigned himself to just nodding sympathetically if he was even paying attention.

"You see, I lost my parents...I've had to watch my sister since we were kids...I don't know how many people I've lost on the merchant runs...Jared is just one of many...you think I don't care, I do! What happens if I lose Saffron? And for what? Caps? I keep hoping caps can buy safety for her, for me...but there's never enough...you, you haven't lost anyone..." Alexandra explained deliriously. Adam sighed as he walked her back onto the deck.

"Alexandra, I lost my girlfriend who happened to be the group leader for one of my friends, Mark. Sven lost three of his friends as a regulator. Carl lost his mother and wife. Julia's Brotherhood of Steel friends die and get wounded on a regular basis. If James ever loses Julia or Isaac...I don't think he will be able to handle it." Adam explained blankly. Alexandra looked at him in shock and started weeping again. Adam secretly rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." Alexandra bawled, her dark hair falling in her face as she hung her head.

"Come on...just, you need to rest. You'll feel better in the morning." Adam said, getting the woman to her cabin.

"No...no I won't...just more people are going to die." Alexandra moaned. Adam was surprised she was not getting on his nerves.

"Alexandra, we're going to do what we can to keep all of you safe, remember that deal we made?" Adam reminded, opening the door for her as he could tell the woman was too intoxicated to operate a door handle.

"Yes...but Jared did not make it..." Alexandra reminded tipsily.

"And I'm sorry. Do not carry that responsibility. That was our fault." Adam answered. Alexandra giggled.

"Call me 'Alex.'" Alexandra answered.

"Sure." Adam muttered, rolling his eyes.

_"Like that's going to last till morn- what...the...heck...?" _

Why were Alexandra's lips pressed against his?

_"Tastes like...scotch..."_ Adam's slightly inebriated mind deduced.

Adam suddenly caught himself when he realized the kiss was not exactly stopping.

"Alex...Alex...Alexandra..." Adam said softly, gently pushing the woman way.

"What?" the merchant complained.

"You...you're out of your mind, you just need some rest." Adam said.

_"Oooh, that bloody scotch." _the regulator inwardly groaned. He did like scotch.

"Could...you please stay?" Alexandra asked.

"You'll be safe, just get some rest." Adam told her and helped her find the bed. He remembered an old detox compound James had given him. It was a little hard finding a vein in his state but he sent the liquid in, gently pulled the covers up to Alexandra's chin and quietly exited the room. He sighed with relief as he closed the door behind him.

_"Squeak?"_

Adam jumped.

"Oh! Oh gosh, Rat, don't do that." Adam scolded. The rat looked up at him curiously. A moment silence hung between the two. Adam suddenly realized where exactly he was standing.

"...This...isn't what it looks like..." Adam said nervously. Rat walked up to the man, put a comforting front paw on the man's ankle and then stuck his tongue out of his snout.

"Hey, I know that look. Rat does that when he doesn't believe you." James announced, suddenly appearing. Adam suddenly felt very small. Why, of all times, did James and Lowell have to show up?

"H-hey guys!" Adam said a little too loudly.

"Hi Adam. So what did you tell Rat that made him not believe you?" James asked.

"Where's Alexandra?" Lowell asked.

"Oh, she's sleeping." Adam said. He suddenly saw James raise an eyebrow skeptically.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Adam demanded.

"You're right in front of Alexandra's cabin, Rat is still sticking his tongue out at you and how did you know Alexandra was sleeping?" James sent.

"Yeah, Adam, that's your guilty face." Lowell pointed out.

"Look, nothing happened okay, I just-"

"Just put her to bed?" James asked.

"Nice use of words." Lowell snickered.

"Guys!" Adam hissed. They suddenly noticed Saffron walking nearby.

"Hi boys, enjoying the evening?" the woman asked happily.

"Yep."

"Great."

"Wonderful."

"That's nice." Saffron said, walking past them.

"Nothing happened, she was too intoxicated, started getting a little close to me and so I-"

"Took advantage of her?" James interrupted Adam.

"No, you dirt bag! What kind of lecherous perv-"

"Danger close!" Lowell warned quickly. Julia was approaching.

"Gentlemen." Julia agreed, walking the sleeping Isaac to his crib.

"I wouldn't put it past you, Adam. Just being honest." Lowell said.

"Hey, have some faith in me. She did kiss me, but that was that." Adam admitted quietly.

"Kiss?" Sufia asked innocently. All the men jumped.

"Geez, Sufia, you're quiet." Adam commented.

"I'm sorry, I could not help but overhear as I was coming by. Were you just talking about Alexandra-"

"Fit. Alexandra had a fit." James said quickly.

"Fit? A fit over what?" Sufia inquired.

"Um..."

"Oh, just another one. You know how she is." Adam replied. Lowell nodded energetically in agreement.

"That is true, well good night, men. Stay out of trouble." Sufia bid them.

–

The next morning, before Mina and Lowell left to head back to the city, the group decided they should at least listen to the holotape that Delta Sierra had given them. They gathered around, the Liberators, Lowell, Mina and even Rat to listen to what the media had to say.

_"...Findings suggest that the plague is caused by a man made virus. Released through the air, the virus acts quickly, entering the lungs of the people infected. The incubation is swift to moderate, depending on the strain involved. Symptoms may not appear anywhere between several hours to two weeks from the first infection." _

"Which means they can go around that long without feeling sick or showing any signs of having the plague." Julia explained to the group.

_"Transmission is mainly through the fluids. Time between the first sign of symptoms to expiration can be between several hours to two days. The virus is easily destroyed in the environment but can be transmitted through rapid contact, usually liquid transmission such as breathing in spittle or ingestion of fluids, this has been seen in scavenging animals. Usually after a day the virus is rendered denatured in the environment." _

"That means that if the body has been sitting out for a day, it is unlikely to infect anyone else. Just once you get the symptoms, you're probably screwed and you don't have long." James expounded.

_"Fatality is near 99%." _

"You don't need to explain that." Lowell muttered.

_"Operations are being done with the work of the Shades, otherwise known as the Society, under the command of a man named 'Vinioux.' These Shades act as the muscle and bodyguards for the real group responsible for the production of the plague. This group is called Lab 18. Their origins, headquarters and motives are for the moment unknown." _

"We know the Shades, but any idea on Lab 18?" Adam asked.

"If the Enclave doesn't know, what makes you think we do?" Lowell asked. They looked over as Julia started to roll up the sleeve of James' duster.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing?" James demanded.

The scribe pulled the sleeve until it was right up to James' shoulder, revealing the entire mechanical prosthetic. The pistons, joints and plating were laid bare but Julia pointed to a particular spot on the main plating that covered most of what was the upper arm and shoulder.

"Hey James, you got a tattoo." Sven said.

"What? How come I never noticed this before?" James demanded.

Etched into the plate was a single, plain inscription.

**Lab 18**


	20. Chapter 20

_Author's note: You know you probably have played a little too much fallout when you start keeping a bottle cap collection. You tell yourself it's just a collection but a part of you wonders if you're in denial about it being a secret stash in case of the apocalypse_

* * *

"_It is better and more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent one to death."_ - Rabbi Maimonides

"_In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds; Most Gracious; Most Merciful; Master of the Day of Judgment..."_

_-_Opening lines of the Most Respected Qur'an

"_But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you."_

-Attributed to Jesus Christ, Matthew 5:44

* * *

Mark hung on tightly to a small handle built into one of the larger components of Phlegyas' massive leg. Apparently, the designers had foreseen the need for groups of infantry to keep up with the Phelgyas so they built small handles for the men to hold onto while they stood, quite literally, on the Phlegyas' toes. It was not exactly comfortable and Mark felt a little nauseous from the constant up and down motion but it certainly beat trotting to whole way trying to keep up with the larger machine.

He was shocked when he heard an explosion much too close for comfort followed by the entire machine shuddering violently. Mark looked up to find fragments and smoking cinders from an impacted missile showering down on him. He brought up an arm up to shield himself from the still raining particles as he followed the smoke trail.

Why did it come from behind the House barricade? Mark could not believe it. Phlegyas, however, did.

"Phlegyas Urban Defense system taking fire. Communist infiltrators detected. Opening fi-"

"Phlegyas, stand down!" Mark shouted. He had just enough time to notice another missile fly towards the massive machine. This time he had distinctly watched one of the sentries fire the ordnance off. Phlegyas' heavily armored body easily absorbed the second blast but the robot was not enjoying it.

"Phlegyas drawing more fire. Requesting permission to retaliate." Phlegyas thundered.

"No, do not fire on them!" Mark cried. He watched as a sentry reloaded the missile launcher again.

"Shielding is holding but persistent fire will compromise Phlegyas functionality. Requesting to return fire." the behemoth sent back again.

"Do you have any non-lethal weapons?" Mark demanded of the machine.

"Lethal force is the only option for this Phlegyas model." Phlegyas responded. Mark chewed his lips and muttered a curse. He needed to think.

"Phlegyas hold, tell them to listen. I have a message to tell them." Mark shouted. The machine stopped and bellowed through its speakers.

"Attention all Chinese communists, commanding officer has a message. Hold your fire and give your attention or risk retaliation." Phlegyas warned. Incredibly, the defenders did stop firing and, peeking their heads over the wall, they looked at the single duster clad regulator standing in front of the machine.

Mark reached to his back and threw his Chinese assault rifle to the ground as well as dropping a 32. caliber revolver and two combat knives.

"I am going to approach you guys unarmed. I have no clue what just happened or why you are attacking us all of a sudden but I'm going to solve this peacefully." Mark announced to the sentries. No one said anything.

"I am going to approach and you will open the door and I will speak with the Supervisor." Mark added. Still no responses. Cautiously, Mark slowly started to approach gate.

"Phlegyas, you will not return fire and you will hold your ground. You will not fire unless one of two things happen. You may fire if you sustain a dangerous amount of damage or if I am killed. Repeat to me your orders." Mark ordered.

"Phlegyas Urban Defense System will not fire nor return fire unless one of two conditions are met. Phlegyas will return fire if it sustains a moderate amount of damage or if the commanding officer falls." Phlegyas announced.

Mark hoped that there would be no more firing, explosions or bloodshed within the next couple minutes. A cold lump of ice settled in his stomach as he worried on what happened to Cindy and Norad.

–

_Adam sat back and sighed. He could not understand why his two friends did not just do this like the majority of other people. However, James had insisted and Julia had agreed. This led to the present state of affairs. _

_ Julia had been following them around, first under the guise for protection in relation to her research but eventually everyone understood it was because of the relationship growing between her and James. _

_ Adam did not understand why those two insisted on a chaste relationship. Could they have not shared a bed and gotten this over with? _

_ But no, James had to have that one upbringing from high Roman Catholicism and Julia had to be proper. _

_ "Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this company, to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony: which is an honorable estate, instituted of God..." _

_ Now he was sitting at their marriage ceremony. Sven and Carl were smiling in the pew next to him while Francis sat in the back puffing a cigarette. A few onlookers from the House had joined in and secretly, Knight Rufus and the Initiate though Julia had them sworn to secrecy on the marriage. She was not sure on how the rest of the Brotherhood would have viewed this mixed matrimony. _

_ The years of the post Great War did a number on a good many things related to the marriage ceremony. The priest's robes were tattered while his collar was a little off-white. He himself was a bit shocked when James and Julia approached the him to wed them. The House's chapel was in its usual disarray and no flowers could be found for the occasion. James had to settle for the best looking duster he had as well as a glove in a similar condition to cover his artificial hand. He felt oddly unencumbered without all his equipment, weapons and armor. Julia also did her best to find the cleanest and finest looking Brotherhood scribe robe she could find. _

_ The rings were personally forged by James. Gold was obviously not to be found and the idea of the precious metal escaped him. High strength metal to represent the devotion the two had for each other was used instead. That symbolism was not lost on them. _

_ And so finally the priest was getting to the vows. For a moment, Adam felt his impatience subside as he actually became happy for his two friends. Perhaps someday, just maybe, he could experience the same thing. For the briefest moment the sad fact that Leslie was not there faded. If this was how those two wanted to express a commitment they were making to each other, well, it couldn't be so bad. Even Francis seemed a little less of a sour-puss in the back pew. _

_ "James Vanderbraun, will you have this woman to be thy wedded wife, to love and to cherish, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others to keep yourself to her only so long as you both shall live?" _

_ "I do." _

_ "Julia Kail, do you take this man to be thy wedded husband, to love and to cherish, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others to keep yourself to him only so long as you both shall live?" _

_ "I do." _

_ The priest took the rings and blessed them, handing one to James and then walking him through the words._

_ "With this ring, I thee wed in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." James repeated, sliding the ring on Julia's finger and then the procedure switched but not before a small hitch got thrown into the motions. The priest was not sure what to do with James' left hand covered by the glove. James muttered to him about the ring going on his right, human hand instead. Julia repeated the appropriate words. _

_ "I declare that James and Julia Vanderbraun are husband and wife..." _

–

Lowell had once again declined the invitation to continue with them on their journey. He had gotten word that there was some unrest back at the House in New York City. This was cause for concern but the Liberators had to continue on their own mission. Still, Adam was disappointed by the parting with his friend, Rat also generally sulking about with Mina gone. Sven seemed to have fallen in a somber mood. Just before Lowell had left, he had given Sven a modified hammer with a pick blade on its back with a sharp spike on its top, a type of hand held war hammer. He was told that Shelby requested it be given to him specifically if anything had happened to her.

On a more disturbing note was the revelation of who their new enemy was, the seemingly shadowy and sinister organization called Lab 18. Julia had explained why the organization's name was embossed on James' prosthetic. Lab 18 was a group that was part of the Commonwealth. They specialized in producing some of the more high tech stuff from the organization, including the bionic implants and prosthetic such as the one James benefited from. Why they were suddenly dropping viruses on communities was beyond anyone's reason and Julia speculated that the organization was starting to show some autonomy from the Commonwealth itself.

Regardless, they had to continue on and press towards the Mohawk river. Just when they thought that they would have to send Saffron to wake her sister, Alexandra appeared, neatly decked in her usual leather outfit though she seemed a bit fatigued.

"Saffron, Ibrahim and Sufia, remove the mooring lines. Carl, raise anchor. We're leaving." Alexandra ordered as she made her way back towards the bridge. As the appropriate people moved to fulfill their duties, Alexandra passed by Adam on the way.

"You, follow me. We need to talk." Alexandra whispered to him. Adam fell in step behind her, a little unsure on what this meant. James, Julia and Sven watched the two disappear behind the door that led into the bridge.

"What was that about?" Julia asked her husband.

"...Well, either it ends in an explosion which is to be expected but undesired, or it dies in a whimper which might actually be worse." James muttered.

"What are you talking about?" Julia demanded, unsure of what was going on.

"We'll find out, I'm sure." James replied quickly.

"Drama should not explode, it's a bad fuel." Sven stated.

Meanwhile, Adam felt a quiet but distinct ball of ice gathering in his stomach as a sense of foreboding fell on him. He already had a rough time trying to convince the guys last night but perhaps Alexandra would be a little easier to persuade. After all, she was there.

"You're a bastard, you know that?" Alexandra breathed, turning around and crossing her arms in front of herself as soon as the door closed behind them. Adam gave her a look, not appreciating the comment.

"What did I do wrong now?" Adam demanded. He suddenly realized how quiet Alexandra was which was not normal plus that look in her eye, did she actually seem...hurt?

"It's one thing to take advantage of me last night. That I can almost understand. The least you could have done was not leave me by myself the morning after." Alexandra said quietly. Adam put a weary palm on his head.

"Alex, nothing happened last night. Okay, well, other than the lip lock, which frankly was your fault-"

"Was not!" the woman retorted, more out of panic than anything else.

"Either way, all I did was put you to bed, gave you a detox compound and left. I did not do anything." Adam stated, emphasizing the last part.

"But...I remember..." Alexandra trailed off. A moment of silence hung in the air.

"How can we both have two different memories? You must have been really plastered last night." Adam muttered.

"Come to think of it, I'm surprised I don't feel any more hungover than I already am, which would make sense if you did stick me with a detox, which would mean I was...dream-" Alexandra suddenly clasped her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. Adam snickered when he saw her face turn a brilliant shade of crimson.

"Stop it, this isn't funny!" Alexandra scolded, giving him a light whack on the face. It only encouraged him to laugh more.

"Oh no, this is hilarious." Adam chuckled. Alexandra meanwhile trembled, more out of embarrassment than anything else. She suddenly grabbed Adam's duster collar.

"Don't tell anyone about this." Alexandra warned, trying to get Adam serious again. Adam could not help a few more chuckles but tried to calm down.

"Of course I won't. You had no control over it, it isn't your fault. The dream anyway." Adam replied.

"Good." Alexandra replied, quietly retreating back a bit as she folded her arms in front of her again, still nervously glancing around.

"One last thing." Adam announced. The woman quietly looked back up at him showing that she was listening.

"Don't ever let anyone take advantage of you. That is never understandable." Adam said.

"...Thanks." Alexandra muttered. Now they both stood around awkwardly, unsure of where to go from here.

"So can I still call you 'Alex' now?" Adam asked playfully, a mischievous grin hanging on his face. Alexandra glared at him though a toothless smile hung on her face.

"Get off my deck." Alexandra chided, giving him a small shove. She was surprised when she felt a small kiss on her forehead.

"Now that one you can blame me for." Adam laughed as Alexandra chased him out of the wheelhouse, the door echoing with a slam behind him.

As the ship left its place on the dock, the crew stared in wide eyed disbelief as Adam uncharacteristically left the bridge grinning and chuckling. He passed his group of regulators and gave them an energetic smile.

"I think it's going to be a good day." Adam declared as he went below deck. Sven, James, Julia and Carl were left speechless.

"Okay, now you need to tell me what's going on." Julia told her husband. James blinked before he looked back at her with a sincere if clueless face.

"Truth be told, I'm not quite sure anymore." James replied.

–

Mark found himself tossed in a room. His painful head was immediately aware of a couple things. One, Ramirez was shot in a coup. The House's supervisor was dead and now some upstart named Baxter was running the show along with a majority of the security team under his thumb. Whether or not they were willing was another question. Two, compliments from the new security team that had the House under lock down, he was in a lot of pain. A part of him was regretting not taking his Chinese assault rifle but at least he had staved off bloodshed. He still had some time to try and figure out a peaceful resolution to this madness.

Of course, bloodshed was a loose term as he rolled over painfully and spat out blood from his mouth. It was nothing serious such as a punctured lung, just a lot of superficial bleeding, but still all the more for dramatic effect.

"Mark?" a familiar voice asked. Still bruised and smarting, Mark could only flop back over so he lay on his back. Cindy's face suddenly filled his vision. Her eyes were puffy and red.

"Mark, you came back? What did they do to you?" Cindy asked.

"Beat me like a pinata...that's what a pinata is, right?" Mark asked deliriously. Cindy frowned as she sat next to him, unsure of what to do. Her medical skills were rudimentary at best.

"I'm...I'm sorry, did you bring help?" the woman asked.

"I was the help..." Mark sighed.

"It was horrible. They- they killed the raiders we were trying to rehabilitate, said they were too dangerous. Others were killed on the spot or thrown into prison like me." Cindy explained.

"What about Norad?" Mark asked hoarsely.

"He's still intact but they managed to stun him. He got dragged off and held down so he couldn't fight back but I heard they're keeping him in storage. They figure they'll reprogram him when this is all over so we still have a chance if we can get back to him." Cindy explained.

"If we can..." Mark muttered, still in a lot of pain. Cindy hugged her legs as she sat next to him, resting her chin on her knees.

"So you're going to give up?" Cindy asked quietly.

"I can't. The guys were talking about hanging us in a couple days. I ordered Phlegyas to attack if I ever get killed. No matter what Baxter thinks, nothing will be able to hold back that machine. If you or I die, the House will go with us. We got to find a way to stop this." Mark explained.

"But how?" Cindy inquired.

"I'll get right on that once this headache goes away." Mark groaned.

–

The _Half Moon_ continued on her path north. At the appropriate time the ship would move down to the left where she would pull into the Mohawk River. Everyone could tell that Carl was getting just a little bit more excited. Sure, he had both good and bad memories of home but it was still home and he was looking forward to seeing how things had fared in his absence. It had indeed been awhile.

In fact, perhaps just to celebrate, he had hooked another mirelurk with his crossbow and was cooking it up heartily in the kitchens, Saffron giving him a hand where necessary. Wafting the smell towards his nose, he glanced down at the boiling meat with a broad grin. This was going to be good.

"I never guessed fishermen could cook." Saffron stated, also enjoying the smell.

"You have to otherwise you're going to get really sick of fish and mirelurks very quickly. Also helps the food go down." Carl explained.

Out on the tables, Rat sat next to Isaac who was sitting contently in his makeshift chair. Sven was loitering around waiting for nothing in particular. To pass the time, he pulled out his Zippo lighter and started igniting small bursts of flames before putting them out and lighting them again. Both Rat and Isaac started to watch with him.

Isaac started to giggle with each lit flame. This only amused Sven even more. Rat tilted his head, either in curiosity or concern. That was when Julia walked in and noticed the whole thing.

"I like your kid, Julia." Sven chuckled. Julia frowned.

"Sven, don't be a bad influence on my son." Julia scolded.

"Hey, I promise I'll teach him proper fire and explosive safety when he's old enough." Sven protested. This did not make Julia feel better.

"...Let's see when he's older." Julia replied cautiously.

Up over the bridge, James kept a quiet vigil above the wheelhouse. Ibrahim had now been tasked with helping with the defense though he still had yet to obtain a weapon other than his scimitar. They were hoping to better equip him at the next port. However, it was still nice to have an extra set of eyes. James watched where the ship was headed while Ibrahim took the safer watch from over the stern.

Ibrahim squinted as he sat on a bench, watching for any ships that seemed to be gaining on them with ill intent. Both he and James were a little more apprehensive at the moment. He did not see it coming but soon a thick cloud of fog had enveloped the ship. He noticed the _Half Moon_ slow down considerably as Alexandra probably cut the speed. At this point they were probably running at five knots which was on the fast end of their comfort zone.

The ghoul nearly jumped out of his flesh when he heard James yelled out his name.

"Ibrahim!" James practically screamed. The ghoul looked up to see the marksman staring down at him.

"What's wrong?" Ibrahim called out.

"Get below deck! Bring Saffron, Isaac and your sister down in the hold and guard them there! Tell the others to get their weapons!" James yelled. Ibrahim was about to ask why when he looked over the port side. What he saw gave him all the motivation he needed. The ghoul ran as fast as he could, his heart galloping in panic.

Just over the port side another ship was starting to pull up alongside them. Cruelly lashed up on the ship's railings were mutilated human corpses.

River pirates.


	21. Chapter 21

"_You aspire to great things? Begin with little ones."_

"_Virtue and vice are not the same even if they undergo the same torment."_

"_It was pride that changed angels into devils. It is humility that makes men angels."_

_-_Attributed to Saint Augustine

* * *

Mark had resigned himself. He just could not figure out what to do at this point. Even if he and Cindy were to get past the guards, they still needed to get weapons. Once that was accomplished, there was still the matter of trying to take on what was probably the entire security force with just the two of them. Then there was the matter that they were rotting in there for a couple days with barely any food or water to live off of at the hands of less than benevolent guards. His injuries were starting to heal but he was not feeling at his best capacity and there was one final matter at hand.

They we scheduled to hang tomorrow.

He did not know why the new Supervisor, Baxter, was drawing that as a good course of action. Once Francis found out about that he would probably send every single Regulator within the tri-state area down on the House with every intent of taking it. Another problem was that Baxter was ignoring what Mark had warned him about. If Phlegyas ever detected that he himself expired, the machine would unleash its entire brute force on the House and the few short days Mark had been out with the giant walker had shown him more than enough of its capabilities. Its avian shape helped it to cover distance quickly. What obstacles could not be crushed or kicked down were simply broken apart by its sturdy forward prow.

And then there was the matter of its twin gatling lasers, miniguns and missile turrets.

Mark sighed. He was feeling rather depressed though he had resigned himself. Cindy felt bad for him as well but she was also feeling a little hopeless. Mark turned it around in his mind. Some idiot must have gotten paranoid, Ramirez was killed, then so many others to cover up the coup, the two rehabilitated raiders were killed and now he and Cindy would hang.

Then Phlegyas will go ballistic and the House will get leveled. Then there will probably be a sizable war machine tearing loose through the city.

The sheer stupidity and senseless bloodshed of man.

"Mark?" Cindy asked.

"Yes?" Mark muttered.

"Hey um...since we're not really going to make it, and don't tell me not to say that cause you know we are, I want to thank you." Cindy admitted. Mark, still laying flat on his back on the floor, glanced up at her.

"What for?" Mark asked.

"Well, one for letting me live when I surrendered. Then thank you for being a friend. I don't think I had a friend like you when I was running with the raiders. At least you didn't take advantage of me or saw me as just another means of trying to stay alive. You treated me like a human being." Cindy said. Mark let himself smile.

"I'm sorry you only felt like you were being treated like a human being on the last several months of your life." Mark replied.

"Yeah well, better than never." Cindy said.

"Now...could we still try to figure out a way of getting out of here?" Mark asked.

"Shut up in there!" a guard yelled, pounding on the door.

Cindy returned the favor and told him to go to someplace a little hotter than warm.

–

Daniel Siaga crouched staring through the scope of his silenced sniper rifle. Some distance away, he could see a village and its inhabitants. As of late, the locals were telling legends of whole villages disappearing, the occupants dead or missing too quickly to be comprehended. The Enclave agent was learning that there was an element of truth to the new dark legends.

Gray suited Lab 18 scientists with the shrouded Shades wearing the fang markings were butchering the people in the town. There was not much resistance to begin with. A population of people suffering from internal bleeding due to both internal and external bloodied blisters generally do not make great fighters.

"Delta Sierra, this is Command, with have an additional assignment for you if you can accomplish it along your assigned path." Daniel's ear piece warned him.

"Go ahead, Command."

"We've gotten reports of a pre-war battle machine in New York City. What limited intel we have on it explains that its official designation is a 'Phlegyas Urban Defense System' which was originally made to protect the city from possible foreign invasions and riot control. Apparently, they were also afraid of fifth column threats." the mission operator explained.

"So what else do you need?" Daniel asked.

"Anything else. Weapons layout would be wonderful because we don't have those."

–

Everyone on the ship forced themselves to fight the rising panic that threatened to strangle each of them as it rose from their chest. Within the rooms of the ship, Ibrahim led Sufia, Saffron carrying Isaac and Rat down into the hold where Alexandra's pack Brahmin was kept. The mutated cow glanced at them before going back to staring at the walls, oblivious to the danger around them. Saffron bundled Isaac and placed him in a hidden corner as some morbid hope that if anything went wrong he would not be found. Over their heads, Sven looked down at them.

"Don't open unless we knock three times. If it opens, just shoot." the pyromaniac warned them before slamming the trapdoor shut and locking it. Ibrahim stepped out of view and readied his scimitar, ready to strike down any pirates that got down. Across from him, Sufia timidly pulled out her laser pistol, Saffron preparing her sawed off shotgun.

"Remember, don't hold back. If you think they're dead, shoot them one last time to make sure." Saffron told the woman. Sufia nodded, fear shining in her eyes.

Up on the bridge by herself, Alexandra powered down the _Half Moon_ as she heard the grappling hooks fall on the portside of her ship's railings. There was no more running now. They would have to fight it out. Pulling out her combat shotgun, the captain stepped away from the windows and pressed herself by the door, ready to blast the head off of any pirate that stepped through.

She was really hoping the Liberators were as good as everyone said they were.

Sven, Julia, Carl and Adam strode purposefully up from the holds, armed to the teeth. None of them were looking forward to fighting in close combat. It did not help that they could feel that the _Half Moon_ had silenced its engines. They also heard a rather loud screech as the railings of the two ships bumped against each other. The pirates could now step aboard.

"Got any advice for us, Carl?" Adam asked. The giant did not hesitated as he pulled out his crossbow in his left hand and brandished his hammer in his right.

"Prepare for close quarters combat. Act fast. I'd lay the rifles aside for small arms." Carl explained.

"All right, let's keep up our end of the deal." Adam breathed, pulling out his SMG and drawing out his Chinese longsword.

Up atop the ship's cabins, James watched through the fog, returning his rail rifle to his back as too impractical at these ranges. Now he was staring down the sights of his laser rifle just waiting for the pirates to show themselves. What were they waiting for? He shuddered at the sight of those barbed grappling hooks. Something told him they had several purposes, not all of them for just latching onto ships judging by a reddish discoloration on them...

Movement!

The pirates could have been more than surprised seeing brilliant lines of red coming at them through the fog. With so many of them approaching at once, it looked like a whole gang of them had simply thrown themselves along the length of the railing, James found the first few kills rather easy. He could not miss.

The problem was after the pirates got themselves firmly onto the deck. Then they started firing back. James quickly scrambled for cover, before sliding down a ladder on the opposite side of the ship, returning his laser rifle to his satchel to retrieve his plasma pistol and short blade.

This was going to call for a different kind of fight.

Deep in the hold, Ibrahim, Sufia, Saffron and the Rat glanced around nervously as they could hear rushed footsteps and occasional yells. They could tell they were being invaded. They all flinched when they heard a muffled boom echo through the decks.

"What was that?" Sufia asked in fright. Saffron squinted, trying to figure it out. Another boom jolted the decks.

"...Is that...Carl's hammer?"

Up on the deck, the pirates were starting to charge towards whatever they could find having gotten over the initial shock of a marksman nailing their comrades with a laser weapon. Some of the faster ones were dashing off to places but they kept hearing noises that suggested they were coming to sticky ends. One that went for the cabin disappeared only for the sound of a shotgun to go off. Those that went around the stern ended up screaming for a moment before a distinct metallic bang cut them off and silenced them forever.

"Head straight!" one of the higher ranking pirates yelled savagely, pointing at the cabin structures.

"Right!" one of the grunts growled and charged, ripping one of the doors open before stepping inside.

His body suddenly flew back out, gurgling as blood poured from a knife wound in his neck. Before any of the pirates could react, a flurry of brilliant green plasma rounds flew at them from inside, severely injuring the pirates that were not killed.

"Follow me!" the leader snarled, charging towards the doorway with his assault rifle. Two more of his cronies were directly behind him. They were upon the door when a small explosion thundered through the doorway.

With several quick shots, the leader and the two cronies were sawed in half from shotgun blasts. General panic ensued. The pirates, more numerous than the defenders of the _Half Moon_, scattered all over the place, some getting past the defenders in their mad scramble to get someplace more sheltered and less out in the open.

The _Half Moon_ was now truly a contested ship with no one owning it.

–

Mark and Cindy sat sullenly in the cell. Tomorrow they were going to die. Tomorrow they would hang. They had roughly 24 hours to live. To make matters worse, it did not look like they had a chance to get out. Even in their wildest dreams there would be no chance to get out. The constant harassment from the guards certainly did not help with their concentration.

"My gosh, why won't they shut up?" Cindy grumbled under her breath, sitting next to Mark. Her compatriot just sighed.

"The least they could do is let our last few hours be spent peacefully. I could certainly use some quiet." Mark grumbled. His body still ached from the beating he took when he first tried to solve the problem diplomatically.

They could hear some ruckus outside the door cell.

"I wonder what that's about." Mark muttered.

"Just them being idiots, what else?" Cindy replied. They suddenly heard a voice outside their door.

"Anyone in there?" someone called. Mark squinted as the voice seemed a little different. Cindy meanwhile got angry as her veins stood out on her neck.

"Go to hell you pigs!" Cindy screamed at them.

"Well, I was going to let you out but after that I think you I'll just let you stay in there." the stranger responded. Mark was almost certain this was a different voice from what they had been listening to and it actually sounded sincere. The two regulators glanced at each other before an unspoken plan formulated between the both of them. Cindy crept up to the door and got into a pouncing position.

"All right, we believe you, open up." Mark answered. They waited a moment as the door opened.

Cindy pounced but the door opened much quicker than expected. The former raider landed quite anti-climatically on an empty floor. She spun around into a sitting position to find herself staring up at a man wearing the green coat of a regulator with gray armor and hat. It appeared he found her tackle attempt rather amusing.

"So am I still a pig that needs to go to hell, ma'am?" the fellow regulator asked.

"Not anymore." Cindy laughed sheepishly, getting up to shake his hand. Mark also appeared to greet their apparent comrade who had appeared in a nick of time. It all seemed like a divine intervention. An adolescent also wearing a regulator coat several sizes too big for her was staring at them as well as a bunch of House security guards, apparently wearing different color clothing to differentiate between the guards loyal to Baxter. Speaking of the coup guards, two of them were dead on the floor.

"My name is Lowell, I was in their neighborhood." their rescuer explained. Mark looked up at him, feeling just a little bit more energy drop into his veins.

"Mark. This here is Cindy." the squad leader introduced.

Any further formalities were interrupted when an alarm started to blare across the House. Their group of rescuers were from a task force group of security men who were opposed to the new Supervisor. They had been compromised and now the House was going to become an all out warzone.

Mark and Cindy grabbed whatever weapons they could and joined the liberation attempt.

–

Sven felt oddly cool with the breeze in his face because his blast helmet was off. However, there was no reason for it if all he had was his shotgun. With no one sure if their back was safe because of all the scattered pockets of raiders, everyone naturally had their hair on end.

Of course, when you're out of your mind most of the time, it's completely normal if some deranged and possibly cannibalistic fellow psycho jumps out at you. Just point the shotgun at him faster than he can point his weapon at you and click.

Instant red paste.

The problem now was clearing them out before they hurt anyone and Sven was having no problem simply strolling down the starboard deck wiping them off. He soon walked into James who was crouched behind a siding, shortblade in one hand, plasma pistol in the other.

"Sven." James whispered.

"What's up?" the pyro asked.

"Head back, watch for anyone coming this direction from behind. Alexandra is probably still in the wheelhouse and may need help keeping any from getting past her. Carl and I got the group ahead of us." James explained.

"Gotcha." Sven replied and headed back the way he came.

James glanced back around the siding he was taking cover behind, looking out towards the remaining deck leading to the stern only to get shot at. The man quickly dived back behind cover, wondering how he was going to handle this. Crouched facing forward, he did not realize just how close his prosthetic was getting towards the open range when he heard a gunshot. Quickly, the sound of fabric tearing and a metallic _ping_ hit his ears. The solid prosthetic had simply shrugged off the wound. James stared at it for a full second before an idea hit his head.

"Oh gosh!! Ow!" James called out, a little lacking in conviction, even for him.

Fortunately, pirates are not the brightest creatures on the Hudson.

James was able to register two pairs of feet running along the deck. Preparing himself, he crouched lower, waiting to pounce. The first raider that showed himself was simply liquidated by a point blank shot from his plasma pistol. The other one was swiftly run through with the surgical point of his short blade.

Before James could consider how to flush the rest of them out, he could hear screaming followed by the occasional fall and booms of a super sledgehammer.

Down in the hold, Saffron was starting to feel better about their odds of getting out of this in one piece. The red head wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead as they continued to hear the sounds of fighting going along the deck. That meant her sister and the Liberators were still holding on and it seemed like they were still going strong.

The overhead trap door suddenly banging savagely, and beyond the designated triple knock, squashed that feeling of optimism in an instant.

"Contact!" Saffron announced, blasting the head off one of the raiders with her sawed off shotgun. Chaos immediately ensued. Isaac started wailing in fright from the loud noise, Sufia held her laser pistol out though she did not fire and the gun noticeably trembled in her hand. The brahmin started mooing hysterically while Ibrahim took a step back into the shadows, preparing for anything that might come down. Rat meanwhile involuntarily let his bladder go, producing an oddly glowing puddle on the floor. Side effect from the Quantum he consumed earlier. The rodent jumped back and squeaked in astonishment in the sudden change in his urine.

Saffron unloaded the extra barrel of her shotgun, taking out another pirate. That used up her second round and she needed to reload. The woman immediately started pulling out extra shells.

"Cover me!" Saffron called. There was no room for error in the crowded hold. Another raider stuck his head in while Sufia stared at him.

"Shoot!" Saffron yelled. Sufia nodded and started firing wildly, the laser blasts going everywhere. One finally grazed the man, sending a jolt of pain through him and he fell through the hold and onto the ground.

A quick stroke of Ibrahim's scimitar sent his head rolling.

"We got more!" Saffron announced, readying her shotgun again.

–

Mark, Cindy, Lowell, Mina and a group of the friendly security forces had fought for nearly an hour over the House armory and finally they were able to clear the area. Still, the House was still going through a civil war as the security teams of two different loyalties continued to jockey for dominance. Their only consolation was that the civilians should have been find cover in the relative safety of the higher floor. Granted, if all the fighting blew out the beams of the ancient building on the bottom, the whole structure would come crashing down on all of them.

Such engineering problems could not be bothered with now.

Mark and Cindy got to the armory where Cindy found her weapons that had been confiscated. Mark was surprised to find his personal Chinese Assault rifle and decided that it must have been requisitioned when he left it outside.

"Where's Norad?" Cindy asked.

"Who?" Mina inquired, the young girl wondering if she had heard right.

"Our Mr. Gutsy. He should be in here." Mark explained.

"You pinko commie bastards, let me out of here!" an electronic shout echoed through the armory. That's when they noticed an armored door to the side. Mark walked up to it.

"Norad, this is Mark, is that you?" Mark inquired, unable to help himself.

"Who the hell do you think it is!?!" came the rude response. Mark rolled his eyes and activated the door. It had barely cleared the robots height when the machine bumbled out, clearly agitated.

"Let me at them! I'll straight up murder every one of these commie pricks!" Norad announced indignantly. Lowell snickered.

"Well soldier, you'll get your chance soon enough. They're all wearing tan battle armor so have at them." Lowell encouraged.

Norad faced one direction of the hallway and immediately stormed the area, all three of its weapons waving menacingly, promising to bring swift judgment on any hostile life form unfortunate to cross its path. Just before it got out of sight, they could hear its speakers blaring the old bugle call for "charge" while Norad added his own commentary.

"Rangers lead the way!" Norad screamed before disappearing.

"Family friend, I presume?" Lowell asked Mark in the momentary silence.

"If only. If only." Mark sighed. The men waited a moment before they shouldered their weapons.

The battle for the House was still not over.

–

The last of the river pirates were not sure what was cutting them down. It did not help that it seemed as if their comrades were simply being ripped apart by thin air. Too late did some of them notice the distortion in the light that signaled Adam's true position.

Adam used their difficulty in getting a fix on him by resorting to his high agility and reflexes, often using the pirates he was weaving in and out of as shields as the pirates simply killed each other by friendly fire while he all the more executed others. The last pirate was able to level his pistol at him just as he became unshaded by the stealth boy's influence.

A quick flick of the wrist and the pirate was dead with a dagger in his neck.

The last of them gone, Adam made his way towards the wheelhouse. Ignoring the piles of bodies, pools of blood and general gore on the _Half Moon's _decks, Adam walked up to the door and knocked three times.

"Alex, you in there? It's me." Adam announced. He heard some footsteps just before a combat shotgun poked out of the doorway, followed by Alex who stuck her head out to look around.

"You get them all?" Alexandra asked. Adam shrugged.

"It got quiet all of a sudden. They're clear on this deck." Adam announced. He noticed Julia walk out of one of the cabin structures and looked over at the ship that still latched onto them.

"We should make sure that ship is empty." Julia announced. Carl appeared on the other side of the ship and, having heard the scribe, readied another bolt in his crossbow before jumping over the railing.

"Sven!" Adam called. The pyromaniac appeared on the other side of the wheelhouse.

"You called?" Sven asked.

"Yes, go help Carl make sure the other ship is cleared." Adam ordered.

"Gotcha." Sven replied and hurriedly followed after Carl.

James tiredly stumbled up next to Julia who was still watching from the deck, plasma pistol still in her hand. The marksman felt a little out of sorts being in such close quarters combat. His metal prosthetic reached out and gently caressed her back.

"Did we get them all?" James asked.

"Maybe, it got a little chaotic, I'm not sure." Julia breathed.

They suddenly heard a scream coming from the hold. Alarmed, Adam, Saffron, Julia and James rushed back into the _Half Moon_.

–

In the end, the reclaiming of the House came at a steep cost. Mark felt a little disillusioned and dazed standing at the bottom of the ruined House. Most of the security force had been brushed away, so many lives that could not easily be replaced, gone in just several short minutes all for the lowest of reasons. Tired and exhausted, Mark and Lowell had fought their way to Harlan Baxter, the usurper responsible for the coup. Mark barely heard what was going on, his mind elsewhere. As Baxter explained how he had been paid off to execute the act by a certain Giles Vinioux from somewhere north, Fort Ticonderoga, Mark's pondered as if in a dream why so much blood had to be shed. Why did man have to kill each other so lightly now?

Where had man gone wrong?

"So that's why he's going to kill you." Lowell pointed to Mark in front of a very petrified Baxter.

"W-what?" Baxter gulped. Mark stared through discouraged eyes. He was much too tired for this.

"It might be better to let him rot in jail." Mark muttered, lowering his Chinese assault rifle. Perhaps later he would consider a more fitting punishment for the man. Truth be told, he did not want one more drop of blood to fall. Too much had been broken in just one day. Norad hovered up, once again covered in a grotesque red paint job.

"Why are you so interested in that Vinioux guy?" Mark asked Lowell wearily. The regulator seemed a little agitated by the name.

"I have my reason." Lowell muttered, idly lighting up a cigarette. The two men simply stood there, Baxter long having been dragged off to the cells by surviving guards.

"Mark!" Cindy cried stepping into the room. The two men turned to look at the woman. Cindy was covered in dust and scrapes as if a lot of building rubble had fallen on her. However, despite her benign injuries, they could not help but notice the small figure that Cindy was cradling in her arms.

Unconscious and badly bleeding, Mina laid very still. More blood spilled on the forlorn House floors.

–

James and Julia found the open trap door leading down into the ship's hold wide open. That was not a good sign. Even more ominous was the relative quiet. Rushing quickly, both of them poked their heads into the hold, trying to figure out what they were seeing.

On the far side, a disgruntled Brahmin was calming down. On the other side, Rat sat next to the bundle that was Isaac who was quietly complaining after all the ruckus. The large rodent glanced up at them before looking apprehensively at the others.

At the foot of the ladder, Saffron stood helplessly as a dying raider gave up the ghost at her feet. Run through the pirate's torso was the deadly and blood stained scimitar. However, right next to the pirate was Ibrahim, struggling to breathe as he gritted his teeth in pain. Weeping, Sufia cradled his head, saying something in a different language.

Sticking out of Ibrahim's abdomen was the hilt of a vicious looking dagger.

"Please, you have to help him! Please!" Sufia cried, looking up at the two doctors.


	22. Chapter 22

"_However important it is that love should precede marriage, it is far more important that it shall continue after marriage." _

_- _Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch

"_Paying visits to ones own relatives prolongs the life of a person and prevents poverty and indigence."_

- Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq

"_It is not death therefore that is burdensome, but the fear of death."_

- St. Ambrose

* * *

Mark sighed heavily at the counter in the View, once again returning to its rightful place as the popular hangout at the still recuperating House. Maintenance teams were still cleaning and repairing the places that got nailed. Mark did not even care who became the next Supervisor. The regulator would let the locals figure that one out.

Instead, Mark was content to wallow in the mire of a depression he seemed to have gotten himself in. May walked up to him and stared at him from across the counter.

"Want anything?" the stout woman asked. Mark continued to stare blankly at the wood.

"...No..." Mark mumbled. May did her best to be sympathetic which was a bit hard when she had to be stern most of the time.

"If you need anything, let me know." May offered before walking off. Mark nodded. So much blood had been shed for no good reason, two raiders he was hoping would be rehabilitated and turned into productive citizens had been killed before they had a chance and now Mina was badly wounded.

Were they making any headway? Mark knew that Francis wanted more than just having bands of regulators wiping out the bad guys. Francis' ultimate goal was a rehabilitation and restoration of the New York wasteland. One of the first goals they had to fulfill was bringing civility to the people here.

That sure wasn't going to happen if the people kept insisting on killing each other. It was amazing the human race had not destroyed itself yet, though it certainly was trying hard to do just that.

Cindy took a seat next to him, Norad following right behind her.

"Feeling any better?" the woman asked. Mark just sulked and remained silent.

"Still bothered by the fact that this did not end peacefully?" Cindy inquired. Mark just nodded.

"Well, it's still good that you tried." Cindy replied.

"Didn't do squat." Mark grumbled.

"But you still did good, soldier!" Norad trumped. Cindy glared at him before looking back at Mark.

"You know sitting here and sulking isn't going to change anything, and it's been two days since we've gone out on a patrol, Mark." Cindy reminded.

"Like that'll do anything." Mark muttered sourly. Before Cindy could reply they started to hear the distinct muffled booms that signaled that Phlegyas was walking towards them. The clear rumbles came to a halt at what appeared to be right outside the window of the View. May could not help shuffling over to peek outside the window. A couple stories below them, Phelgyas was directly under them facing the House.

"Phlegyas awaiting orders." the machine announced.

"Geez, even the robot is getting impatient, Mark." Cindy pointed out. Mark did not look like he was going to budge. Cindy put a hand on his shoulder.

"Look, we already tried to rehabilitate two raiders and the reason they got killed was not their fault, they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Besides, you had me reformed and I'm still here. We can always try again but nothing will happen if you just sit here." Cindy argued. They waited a moment in silence as Mark let it roll over in his mind.

"Phlegyas awaiting orders."

"Fine, fine! We're going, hold on!" Mark yelled.

–

Initially, James and Julia figured it would be a regular operation of removing an offending object, rapidly stitch up any too open intestine punctures and then apply a syringe of stim-pack and the situation would take care of itself.

However, it did not turn out to be quite that simple. Sufia pointed it out perfectly.

"Why is the wound not closing?" the woman asked. James and Julia stood dumbfounded. This had not quite happen before. The four people were in Ibrahim and Sufia's room, Ibrahim reclining on his cot looking up helplessly at the others.

"You think another stim-pack should do something?" Julia offered. James shook his head.

"We've already tried three on him, two of my homemade ones and one pre-war dose. Anymore and we might as well be dropping them into the river." James speculated. You just could not waste the precious medicine.

"You think it might have something to do with the fact that I'm a ghoul?" Ibrahim offered. A pained expression crosses James' face.

"Well..."

"I know, I know, don't worry about offending me. I understand in this case it does have to do with my body and you not being a bigot." Ibrahim assured.

"We will just have to do this the old fashioned way; stitch up the wound and wait it out." Julia said.

Up on deck, Alexandra had decided to take advantage of the medical hold to procure a very well hidden profit. They just had to clean it up first. She even helped Saffron, Carl, Sven and Adam with the unpleasant business of making it less savage.

"I don't see how people can live like this." Adam murmured, swinging his Chinese blade to cut off rope that was holding a badly mutilated corpse.

"Don't know, don't care, so long as they die before they get to me." Alexandra replied, standing ready with a boarding pike to push the body overboard once it was free of its shackles.

"Are you sure someone is going to buy this old pirate ship?" Adam asked.

"We just need to get the bodies off, we probably won't even need to get rid of the bloodstains. Anyone will buy a ship so long as it works. They always fetch a good price." Alexandra replied.

"Whatever you say." Adam replied.

"Who knows, I might even share some of the profit with you." Alexandra grinned.

Below deck, Sven and Carl went from door to door, looking for any equipment or loot that would be useful. Sven took out his recently received pick and hammer from the late Shelby Royeaux and wrenched off a padlock from a door.

"If this was locked, can only mean that there's good stuff in here, right?" Sven asked.

"Usually the way it goes." Carl replied.

"I hope they got a nuke or a bomb in there, nothing like some free toys." Sven chuckled. Carl rolled his eyes.

The swung the door open to be greeted by a rather horrifying scene of more bodies, these were unfortunately mutilated with a kind of organization.

"Ah, come on, I'm getting sick of seeing this." Sven complained.

"Well, least we can sleep better knowing we cleared a boat full of cannibals." Carl muttered, frowning at the rather distressing sight.

"Aw man, now we got to clean up this mess." Sven pouted.

"We? Screw that, man. I'm going to keep searching, you clean it up." Carl said, walking off.

"Clod!" Sven shouted at the giant.

–

Rat sat comfortably on one of the mess tables next to Isaac who was sitting contently in his makeshift seat, also on the table. This way he was in a common area for everyone to be able to help should he raise a fuss. Rat took it on himself to keep an eye on the infant as he did not have anything better to do, there were no more interesting smells to investigate on the ship and he was catching on that this was the only time they tolerated him climbing the tables.

"Hi you two." Julia greeted her son and the rodent as she walked by, looking to find where everyone else was. Rat squeaked a greeting to her. Sufia and James also appeared, James clearly explaining to her the use of a laser pistol.

"Most firearms have a bullet drop, you have to compensate for how far the target is and environmental conditions such as wind which will affect the bullet's path. However, a laser weapon, such as your pistol, is a light based weapon. It won't deviate from its path. You just need to aim steady." James explained to the woman.

"I really need to work on my aim then. My brother would not be in this state if only I had-"

"Do not blame yourself, Sufia. You're not the one who drove that knife into your brother's abdomen." James scolded.

"But I could have stopped-"

"No. Stop." James told her sternly. There were some rules if you wanted to keep your sanity around the business of fighting.

And then a gunshot rang outside.

Julia immediately swept up the startled Isaac and bounded towards Ibrahim's room, Rat hot on her heals while James shepherded Sufia right behind his wife. Within a couple moments, a rather shocked Ibrahim stared as Isaac was deposited on his chest, Rat scampering to a corner in the room while James made sure Sufia had her laser pistol ready.

"You know the drill." James told her as Julia closed the door and locked it.

Up on the deck of the captured ship, Alexandra and Saffron stayed under cover. Several more shots had rung out and rounds were bouncing of the metal. Adam briefly turned on a stealth boy to get a look at who was shooting at them.

"Shades." Adam announced to all of them, recognizing the cloaks and hoods with the distinctive fang colors on them.

"Shoot, my shotgun will do nothing at these ranges." Alexandra growled.

"I left my rifle on the _Half Moon_." Saffron explained sheepishly.

"Carl, Sven?" Adam asked, looking at his two men.

"They got us pinned down pretty well and judging by the sounds, those rounds might break through my armor, I won't be able to just walk out there." Carl explained.

"We're going to need some cover." Adam said, looking at Sven. The pyromaniac thought for a moment.

"It's going to be hard, you guys can't be too close to me or my incinerator will take all your oxygen." Sven replied.

"But I won't be able to hide and then come back in time when you shut off your fire gun." Carl explained.

"When are James and Julia going to show up?" Adam grumbled. Rounds started landing back on the _Half Moon_ but it looked like they too were going to get pinned down. With a dozen or so Shades on the shore, they could easily split their fire on the ships.

"Well crap, we're stuck." Adam complained.

They suddenly heard a thunderous crack through the air. It repeated several times. After awhile, rounds were no longer landing on their ships. James was the first to take advantage of the situation and started sending rounds off with his rail rifle.

"All right, I think I can make it, you guys get back in the ship, time to drop some happy." Sven said, pulling down his mask and preparing his incinerator. No sooner had the others gotten further in the ship did an arc of fire fall from the sky and start seeking out the remaining Shades.

"What was that gun? Who took them out?" Alexandra asked. That was when they noticed James standing by the _Half Moon_'s railing, searching with his scope.

"Are you kidding me!? What the heck!?" James cried.

"Why? What?" Adam demanded from the other ship.

"You're not going to believe me, even if I told you. Heck, I don't believe it." James replied.

"What? Try me! What do you not believe?" Adam called.

"How a little girl like Mina can even handle firing such a miniature cannon like that! How in the world did she get her hands on one of those? I want one!" James complained.

Adam rushed to the railing and looked off in the distance. On the shore was the distinctive outline of Lowell and Mina walking towards them, Mina lugging the largest rifle any of them had ever seen. Most everyone found it rather amusing.

Most everyone except James who still was really interested in Mina's new rifle.

--

Lowell and Adam took a small stroll down the river to catch up while James, Mina and Julia worked to collect the fingers from the bodies. Carl and Sven continued to help get the ship in working order.

Aside from the new weapon, Mina was sporting another change although this one was a little less joyous. It was an eyepatch. This was something that was not lost on Julia and James although they were not sure how to bring it up.

Julia just decided to be direct about it.

"So, is that permanent?" the scribe asked carefully. Mina answered just as cautiously.

"We're…not sure. I hope it is not but it will be awhile before we can find out." Mina replied. Julia nodded sympathetically. James decided to add his two cents by removing the glove he kept over his left hand, revealing blatantly all the mechanical moving parts.

"Don't get me wrong kid, I'd rather have my original hand than this fancy piece of hardware. However, regardless of what happens, just remember that something like this is only a disability if you look at it that way. You can also choose to learn to live a full life with it instead of seeing it as cutting half your life out. You're a strong girl, you just got to keep at it." James told her.

"Thank you, sir." Mina answered shyly. Julia smiled before kneeling down and giving the smaller girl a tight hug. They remained that way for a few moments.

"Mr. Vanderbraun?"

"Yes, Mina?"

"Stop staring at my rifle."

"Fine…" James grumbled. That was when they heard several shouts, gunshots and a few animal roars. They were down the river. The same direction that Lowell and Adam went. Panicked, everyone banded together, weapons drawn as they rushed to see what had happened.

When they got there, they found a soaking wet Lowell standing over the corpse of a Deathclaw while a very disgruntled Adam complained loudly under the body. Alexandra, who had joined them, was the first to react.

"What happened?" Alexandra demanded as the others rushed to get the heavy corpse off of Adam.

"Evening a score." Lowell explained nonchalantly.

"Could you all hurry getting this freaking thing off me? I really don't appreciate getting bled on." Adam complained.

--

As the day slipped into the evening and the others started to settle down, Sufia rushed up to Julia who was sitting with Isaac in the dining area. Julia looked up and could see in Sufia's eyes that she was rather distressed.

"Please, you must check on Ibrahim, he is not well." Sufia pleaded. Julia nodded, handed her child to Carl who was sitting nearby and grabbed James along the way as they rushed towards Ibrahim's room. The two medics found the man lying in his bed. His eyes were half shut and he seemed to be miserable."

"What is the matter, Ibrahim?" Julia asked.

"I…feel sick…fever…" Ibrahim complained.

A quick look over showed that instead of his wounds getting better, they seemed to be deteriorating. A vile pus was starting to form from the deep gash that practically went through him. The wound had become infected. James and Julia held a quick conference with the anxious Sufia looking on.

"I don't have anything to fight infection. Stimpacks are just going to be quick fixes and perhaps even at this point, they would not be doing any good." James explained.

"We're going to have to find something, medication or something you could boil down into a disinfect when we get to the next town." Julia suggested.

"It might be past the point of no return if we wait that long." James said under his breath. Julia hesitated.

"You do know that there is another way ghouls recuperate…" the scribe started. It was a well known fact that ghouls regenerated from their wounds faster in the presence of radiation. Just how this worked was beyond anyone's guess but at this point, they needed a solution more than an explanation.

"I know, but it's dangerous for the rest of us and, besides, where are we going to get the radioactive material?" James asked. The couple stood in silence for a half moment before they both nodded in agreement.

"Sven!" James hollered.

–

It took some convincing but Sven eventually took apart one of his mini-nukes and, while still medicated under some Rad-X, handed the radioactive core to Ibrahim. Standing outside the cabin door so not to absorb any radiation, James gave Ibrahim some final instructions while Sven made an exit.

"Just keep that close by you. Your sister is not to visit you unless she has some Rad-X and never for more than an hour. I hate to do that but we can't have her getting sick too. Julia or I will check up on you tomorrow." James stated.

"I understand, doctor. Thank you." Ibrahim answered. Meanwhile, Julia explained to a rather dismayed though understanding Sufia why she could not spend as much time watching over her brother. In the end, she would have to end up rooming with Saffron until they could call an end to Ibrahim's radiation therapy.

The next morning, Alexandra was up and a little more attentive to looking for a settlement. It was made very clear to her the condition that Ibrahim was in and, gosh darn those Liberators for probably softening her heart a little, she probably was actually starting to care for that ghoul and his sister.

When she heard the distinctive sound of gunfire, however, she immediately powered down the ship and brought it close to the shore. Saffron hastily if quietly brought the anchor down while the Liberators, Lowell and Mina lowered themselves down into the shallows to investigate what all the gunshots were about. Up on deck, an anxious Rat sat next to Isaac who Sufia was keeping an eye on. Alexandra meanwhile manned her Bofors gun just in case.

The regulators made a quick if stealthy bee line towards the sound of fighting.

"Anyone want to take a stab at what might be going on?" Adam asked up in the lead.

"Aren't you the one that usually does the stabbing?" Lowell quipped.

"Very funny." Adam muttered.

"With those gunshots, it could be anything." Carl stated.

"I think I can hear screaming too." Mina added.

"Once again, could be anything." Carl informed.

"At least we know it can burn." Sven chuckled.

"Hold, I think I can see it." James stated, standing straight at he peered over the rise of the bank, eye staring through the scope of his rail rifle. They all stood for a moment waiting for the marksman to give his report. Mina decided to wait lest she waste well needed energy to set up her massive rifle.

"It's a settlement but it looks like a bunch of people are killing the locals. We have to hurry." James warned.

"Who are they?" Adam asked.

"They look like Enclave but…no, they're Lab 18 agents." James reported.

"How do you know?" Carl inquired, readying his gatling laser.

"You'll see." James said just before his rifle screamed.

Adam and Lowell led the charge towards the town, their weapons firing as they took advantage of every stitch of cover along the way. The screaming of James' rifle was already getting their attention. Fireballs falling from the sky from Sven's incinerator were certainly adding to the chaos. A heavy boom resounding signaled that Mina had finally set up her rifle while Julia found a safe place to take accurate shots with her plasma rifle.

Rushing right behind Lowell and Adam was Carl, gatling laser ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice.

Lab 18 scientists are similarly dressed to their Enclave counterparts though, since their research is more specialized, their equipment is therefore a bit more superior. However, despite being rather radiation resistant and biohazard proof, they are still not very resilient against even the most basic chemical ballistic weapons.

However, not all in their numbers are so poorly defended.

A Lab scientist fell with a knife lodged deep in his chest, thrown from Adam while Lowell took an aimed burst at yet another scientist. As they moved along, Julia and Carl right behind them, their energy weapons firing, they could see the broken bodies of people who were clearly non-combatants, victims of some unclear motive of Lab 18

"Contact!" Lowell warned and immediately started firing at someone who was clearly Lab 18 but did not appear to be one of the scientists. In fact, this Lab 18 operative was similarly armed with an assault rifle but it was what he was wearing that made him stand out from the others. The enemy's equipment seemed to be a heavier form of combat armor. Certainly lighter than Brotherhood or Enclave power armor by a long shot but as Lowell was about to find out, much more durable than regular power armor.

"He's a tough nut to crack!" Lowell growled, watching the rounds from his assault rifle simply bounce off the man's armor. Both he and Adam dove for cover while Julia took a crack shot at the man. They all watched as the plasma round strike the hostile, the heated gas squashing against the armor.

The Lab 18 soldier grunted in pain and yet gathered himself and took another shot at them.

"Come on, Mina! Find a fix on him!" Lowell shouted, unsure what their two marksmen were firing at though they could tell from the repeated gunfire that whatever they were shooting at, it wasn't this particular soldier. Sven also seemed to be otherwise preoccupied.

"I got him!" Carl announced, unleashing a torrent with the gatling laser.

Finally, the Lab 18 soldier was simply shredded in half from the superheated energy.

"That has got to be the toughest armor I've ever seen." Julia announced.

"Coming from a Brotherhood scribe; that has got to say something." Lowell replied as they pressed on.

Sven had gotten distracted watching where the majority of the Lab 18 personnel where headed. For whatever reason, they were butchering the inhabitants, simply opening fire on them while others were simply hacked apart with blades. Having been caught literally red handed, they were making a beeline to a large helicopter, a peculiar aircraft in Sven's eyes.

Just as the aircraft was powering up and started to lift off, Sven realized his incinerator would do no good against the machine. However, this did not bother the group's explosive expert. Instead, he calmly placed the incinerator down. Whistling now, he simply drew his dual mini-nuke and missile launcher.

"The bigger they are, the bigger the explosion!" Sven cried just before the missile rattled off his launcher and screamed towards its target. The resulting crash and explosion had Sven laughing in hysterics on the town commons. In fact, it was where James and Mina found him as they strolled towards the town, realizing the engagement was fairly much over.

"Does it always end like this?" Mina asked James as she watched Sven in bewilderment.

"On a good day, yes." James replied. Looking through his shades, he could tell they were a bit too late. Even more disturbing, he could already see at a distance that the inhabitants were suffering from the same plague that Lab 18 had been using, bloody blisters erupted all over the victims. He did not think they would find anything to help Ibrahim here. It was rather discouraging. Adam, Carl and Lowell were also returning.

"A little too late." Adam muttered.

"Where's Julia?" James asked.

"She's a little up the street, wants you to meet her ASAP. She thinks she found someone she can keep alive." Lowell explained.

"Got it." James replied, starting to walk past them.

"What kind of armor can stand up to that kind of punishment?" Adam muttered as James left them.

"Ain't nothing like I ever saw." Lowell replied.

"That's the longest I've ever had to pelt a target." Carl admitted.

James meanwhile was watching Julia trying to comfort whom he was certain was a dying villager. From what they had learned on the holotape, Julia would be all right so long as the victim's blood did not find a way inside her at this point in the illness.

And then he saw it.

Julia was asking the dying man questions when she suddenly saw him cough. Thing slowed down, almost to the point of a dream when she felt specks of liquid, red, warm and wet, spray all over her face. Unable to help herself, the cold horror and realization hitting her, she accidently dropped the man. Her face had already paled before a very frantic James had rushed over to her.

The symptoms were already starting before they could even get her to the _Half Moon_.


	23. Chapter 23

"_As to diseases, make a habit of two things: to help, or at the least, to do no harm."_

"_Extreme remedies are very appropriate for extreme diseases."_

"_To do nothing is sometimes a good remedy."_

-attributed to Hippocrates

* * *

Knight Rufus and Fernando, along with the majority of the Brotherhood base, quivered behind the heaviest cover they could find and waited for the disaster to hit. The problem was they just had no idea what that disaster might be. It was like that super mutant attack one year ago with the Behemoth. The problem was this time they did not have all the firepower of the _Defiance_ backing them up and to make matters worse, they were certain that something much more dangerous was out there.

They just had no clue what it was.

"I'm telling you, I'm certain it sounds heavier than a mutant behemoth." Fernando told Rufus, preparing his assault rifle as they both cowered behind a heavy concrete block. Rufus chanced a look up at the entranceway. Still nothing, except the foreboding booms that sent tremors their direction.

"What could possibly be heavier than a behemoth?" Rufus demanded, the more experienced knight wondering how much good his laser rifle would do him.

"I don't have a clue; I'm just telling you what I think it sounds like." Fernando retorted. Suddenly, the rumbles came to a complete halt. Ahead of everyone else, both of the Brotherhood knights poked their power helmets above the concrete slab to see what had stopped right at the entrance of the base.

Unbelievably, the two regulators, Mark and Cindy, were standing right in front of them, waving like it was no one's business. Norad was hovering nonchalantly right next to them.

It was what was right behind them that got their attention.

The two heavily built and robustly armored claws and legs that ended with the triangular and heavily constructed weapons platform was what had every Brotherhood members' attention. It was like nothing they had ever seen before and the only thing that came close to their recognition were the reports of a giant war machine their compatriots in the Capital Region had resurrected. This battle walker that stood before them certainly was not as tall as the Capital region robot, did not look anything like it and did not appear as heavily armed.

Still, it was intimidating in its own right.

"Uh…you…want…something?" Knight Rufus asked carefully.

"Well, I figured you guys would want to take a look at this new machine I found. Otherwise, why are you all hiding?" Mark asked innocently.

"Phlegyas awaiting orders." The machine announced.

"All right, shut up already! You're almost as bad as Norad!" Cindy complained at the giant robot.

--

A general sense of panic had fallen on the _Half Moon_. At first, Saffron and Sufia were surprised when Mina practically scrambled up the rope, followed by Carl and the others. While the giant was still on the rope, Mina relayed to the others on the ship very specific instructions.

"James says we got to find a curtain or even better a plastic tarp and use them to seal off a section of the cabin rooms with at least two cabins within the quarantine. We are to lift him and Julia out of the water once that has been accomplished and then we are to stay as far as possible from them until he can get Julia into a room." Mina explained.

"Why? What's going on?" Saffron asked in confusion.

"Julia has become infected with plague. There's no time to do anything, all he can do is put a quarantine on the ship, now please, we must hurry." Mina urged. Immediately, everyone set about doing what they had been instructed.

When the moment finally came that they had carried out their orders, Ibrahim already set up within the quarantine zone in his own room while the opposite room would be Julia's, they signaled the two medics on the shore that they were ready. James swooped an already weak Julia in his arms as he waded through the river and caught on the rope.

"Talk to me, how are you feeling?" James asked her, doing his best to try and mask the practical panic that was in his voice. Julia was slow to respond.

"I feel miserable...I feel weak...I'm shivering but my head is on fire...I'm...already getting the blisters..." Julia listed in fright. James glanced over at her finding her staring forlornly down into oblivion.

What made chills run up his spine was the fact that her face was already practically covered in the red blisters.

"We're coming on board, you all better clear away." James warned everyone as he stepped on the deck. He was not sure if Alexandra wanted to talk, and if she did, out of concern or to harass him about someone with plague on her ship, he was glad that the fear of getting infect kept her at bay.

But now he had to figure out how to keep his wife and Ibrahim alive.

Back on the ship deck in the open air, it seemed as if the very atmosphere inside the ship had become condemned, the others loitered around not sure of what to do. Lowell simply stared through one of the darkened doorways that led inside towards the cabins and shook his head. He had a feeling he knew what James was going through.

"So what do we do from here?" Alexandra asked Adam as if expecting direction. The Liberator was not sure and he rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm not the expert when it comes time to medicine." Adam said.

"Well, not to be a prick, but we can't just sit here. We'll be an easy target for pirates." Alexandra pointed out carefully. Adam thought carefully.

"Well, James did say that we were supposed to continue on our route looking for communities which may have something to treat Ibrahim. I guess it's more important now than ever that we continue doing that so let's continue on and find the Mohawk." Adam suggested.

"All right." Alexandra nodded before hurrying off to start the engines and get both the _Half Moon_ and their recently captured pirate ship up and running. It was at that moment that James slipped through the doorway.

Carl's personal opinion was that everything was happening too quickly. One moment they were trying to find something for Ibrahim's fever and before they knew it they were fighting Lab 18 then Julia got sick and now it seemed that James had aged about ten years in the space of fifteen minutes. Their medic's face was lined with deep worry yet tense muscles showed he was doing his best to put up a brave face.

Nevermind the thought that probably everything he held dear was dying and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Don't get close too me, I'm just out here to explain what is going to go on for awhile." James stated, holding a hand up before anyone could approach him. Those around him waited for him to talk.

"No one is to approach within ten feet of the corridor except to bring food or drink. Only Sufia will be allowed to go in and only for brief moments to visit Ibrahim. I will give you specific equipment to try to keep you safe in there. If at any moment you do not hear from anyone within the quarantine area...well...run the ship aground and burn it." James stated bluntly.

"You're going to be staying in there?" Carl asked incredulously.

"Someone has to keep an eye on them." James responded.

"You think burning is a little...um...harsh?" Adam asked.

"It's the only way to...prevent it from spreading." Lowell reminded them. James nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. God help all of you." James informed them before disappearing back into their makeshift quarantine.

–

Mark was impressed with the determined curiosity that the Brotherhood of Steel scribes launched with investigating Phlegyas. It almost appeared as if the robot was a giant covered in ants as scaffolding and cranes were erected around the battle walker, the robot at least content with Mark's orders of "Stand still and wait for the scribes to finish looking you over." At least that shut Phlegyas up for awhile.

It was then that one of the higher ranking Brotherhood knights, decked in full power armor walked up to him. Mark could not help but notice a lightning bolt insignia blazed onto his armor right next to the Brotherhood of Steel insignia. The knight saluted him.

"Paladin Hail of the Iron Storm troopers. The scribes have requested that I give you the full report of our findings on your machine." Hail announced. Mark nodded.

"Sure, go ahead." Mark nodded as he folded his arms in front of him.

"Well, basically there's a lot of power behind those two giant legs. All the horsepower is both to hold it upright and help it achieve a high speed."

"I've seen it walk right through a building." Mark informed.

"Apparently that too. You know the weapons, twin gatling lasers on the bottom, two miniguns on either side on top and two missile launchers in the center. There's plenty of ammo storage within the body of the machine but you're going to have to stock up on a lot to keep it running. Granted, we toped him off for you when we finished the inspection. However, you won't need to worry about the gatling lasers, those are connected to the fusion reactor that powers the big guy."

"That's nice to know." Mark nodded.

"Did you know that we also found rotors on him? We can go in the water." Paladin Hail added. Mark's eyebrows went up.

"Really?" Mark asked.

"Yep, though the scribes believe he'll sit low in the water. However, he's pretty water tight and all the electronics are protected so in theory even if he were to go right to the bottom of the bay, he could just keep on walking under water but we believe he was mostly designed to float." Hail continued.

"Cool." Mark said in happy surprise.

"Also, we found eight onboard compartments on the machine. Apparently, they're for the rapid deployment of passengers." Hail finished. Mark squinted at him.

"What do you mean?" Mark asked. Suddenly, right behind him, he saw eight holes appear along the bottom section of Phlegyas, immediately followed by steel cabling slowly lowering by an onboard winch within the guts of the machine. Holding tightly to each of the cabling was a Brotherhood scribe. As soon as they gently landed on the ground and stepped off, the winch retracted the cabling, the compartment doors closed as soon as the cabling was returned.

"Inspection complete, Paladin." one of the scribes reported to Hail.

"Very good, dismissed." Hail told them before looking back at Mark.

"I have a feeling that this is going to be a stupid question but is he for sale?" Hail asked sheepishly.

"Oh heck no." Mark told him. He could not see Hail's reaction behind the helmet but the Paladin did sigh while shaking his head.

"Well, it was worth asking…"

--

It does not matter how much you are surrounded by death and dying. Indeed, people do not realize that they began to die the moment they took their first breath. It is not the proper question to ask a doctor if you were going to die. Of course you are going to die some day. It's only a question of when are you going to die.

Just can you prepare for it?

A myriad of feelings and thoughts assaulted Julia as she felt her strength leave her as the pain of numerous blisters erupting all over her started to get her attention. It was becoming painful to breathe and yet still she had to keep going on. Who was going to take care of Isaac? What about James? How would he cope? What about the others?

Just how much say did she really have in this?

And for the first time in her life, she felt truly and utterly helpless.

"James…?" Julia moaned. The man glanced down at her as he seemed to be feverishly preparing something.

"I-I'm sorry…" Julia said painfully. Why was it so painful to talk? Were those blisters in her mouth, on her tongue?

"Don't apologize for this, it isn't your fault." James told her quietly as he hooked up an IV line into her arm.

"What are you doing?" Julia asked. James took out five syringes of stimpacks and emptied them into the waiting pouch of the device.

"I'm going to guess that the virus causes death by internal bleeding. We cannot treat the virus so I'm hoping we can treat the symptoms. At least a constant drop of stimpack fluids will help prevent any rampant internal bleeding." James caught himself before he finished that sentence with "hopefully."

"James, if anything happens-"

"Julia." Her husband interrupted her. She looked up at him as she could see he too was fighting within himself. What could he possibly tell her?

"…For now…plan to live, please do that." James told her before leaving to go check on Ibrahim.

Outside, Adam and Lowell sat on one of the deck benches a little phased out. There was little that they could do except wait. That was the whole problem with the situation. A lot of waiting involved. Not a thing anyone could do about it to make it better. Maybe prayer but not much else.

"So…think we'll find anything on the Mohawk?" Adam asked Lowell out of a driving need to think of anything but the obvious on hand.

"Considering that the Shades now have our pictures, names and want us dead, I'm going to go with more Shades." Lowell replied. Adam idly scratched the back of his head.

"Could be worse I guess." Adam muttered sarcastically. The two men ended up staring blankly as the waters passed them by. The wake of the _Half Moon_ with the captured ship in two cast a quiet wave that stayed for awhile on the river before being swallowed by the shores.

"So, I found this photograph that I think you would like to see." Lowell announced and handed Adam a worn picture. It took Adam awhile to recognize it. It had been a photograph of their younger years when he had first met Lowell and Leslie. There were plenty of fights to be had back then. Lowell grinned into the camera with two black eyes while Adam himself was stained with dirt and blood. Arms crossed in the center, her face the picture of bemusement, was Leslie. Adam let a sad smile cross his face.

"She was always the one who knew how to not get hurt." Adam said.

"Ain't that the truth." Lowell muttered.

"And the one time she got hurt…" Adam said, trailing off.

"Seems like she wasn't the only one that did get hurt." Lowell observed.

"That's all there seems to be in this world today. A world of hurt." Adam sighed.

"So, you still set on thinking this world can be a better place?" Lowell asked. Adam hesitated.

"Francis seems to think so. It's the reason he sends us on these crazy missions." The younger man finally replied.

"Right, and you just go along just for the caps." Lowell quipped playfully. Adam let a wry grin cross his face.

"Darn straight…plus I think that's what she'd want me to do anyway." Adam answered, motioning back towards the picture.

--

James ended up sitting in a chair that he found, resting right in the hallway so he could watch both Ibrahim's and Julia's room. There was nothing left to do except wait. And wait. Pray, wait and feel completely, utterly helpless. His friend was suffering from an infection in one room undergoing a rather crude radiation therapy. His wife was quite likely dying in the other room with only a potshot treatment that was not even getting to the bottom of the whole problem. As a doctor, he did not like to just treat a symptom.

James wanted to snipe something. The unfortunate reality was that you cannot snipe viruses.

You can only wait.

--

Mark and Cindy stood right up to where the concrete met the Hudson Bay. Only just a few weeks ago they had watched over this place keeping a vigil on the Iron Lady that kept a lonely watch over the waters. Mark was hoping that he could get some answers now without having to find that elusive ship that could get them across the choppy waters of the bay.

"Phlegyas, you think you could do some long range scanning? See if there are any life forms over on that island?" Mark asked the giant. The behemoth stopped but they could hear a very faint mechanical hum come from within the machine.

"Scanning for life signs…scanning for weapons…scanning for energy signatures…verifying data…" Phlegyas suddenly boomed. The two regulators glanced nervously at each other. Norad continued to hover nonchalantly.

"Life forms detected. Energy readings positive but data cannot be complied. Weapons detected. Warning: Electromagnetic weapons detected. Deploy Phlegyas Urban Defense System with utmost caution." Phelgyas warned. Mark and Cindy squinted.

"Electromagnetic weapons?" Mark asked. Norad snapped to attention.

"Otherwise known as an EMP, general. That stuff will toast robots like Phlegyas and myself like fire flash roasts you organics. One direct blast of that abomination and we become giant paperweights." Norad explained.

"Hmmmm…" Mark murmured.

"That's why the Brotherhood lost their men all at once. Their power armor was shut down by that electromagneta- whatever you call it. They must've frozen in place and became sitting roaches." Cindy said.

"So now the question is who is on the island?" Mark asked quietly.

"Incoming transmission, sir!" Norad reported and started playing on his speakers. The transmission was a little spotty.

"…This…Adam Anders…porting to all Regulators an…Garret…Be on the lookout…Lab 18. They are…the plague…my crew is infected. I repeat…Lab 18 is spreading the plague…one of my crew is infected…we don't…if she will make it." And with that, the transmission cut off. The two regulators felt a ball of ice descend in their stomachs.

"Aerial contacts on radar." Phlegyas announced. They all glanced into the sky to see a rather strange aircraft slowly crossing the sky. It looked like they were heading towards Liberty Island. The problem was that they were not quite sure what it was since it did not in the slightest resemble an Enclave vertibird.

"Mark, look! Is that what it is really written on its side?" Cindy demanded. Mark squinted with his eyes. Sure enough, there was no mistaking the branding. Lab 18.

"Phlegyas, shoot that sucker down." Mark ordered.

"Weapons free order received. Opening fire." Phlegyas announced just as a missile hissed off its platform. Within seconds, the deadly projectile found its target and the helicopter exploded over the bay before crashing into the water.

"Now that's how you start a fire!" Norad announced.

--

_They had wandered for as long as he could remember. This was just another day of wandering. Just him, his sister, mother and father and the endless road that was never a home. Local inhabitants usually did not take a likening to them. Life that was already hard on everyone seemed to be a little more caustic to them. _

_ And they did not have a home. Just endless wandering, searching for some place. They just did not know what this some place was. Their father had hoped that by continuing to search they would somehow, someway just find it. And yet they did not know what to look for. They just knew they had to get someplace but did not know how to find it. _

_ And that was why they were where they were when life entered some kind of limbo. Just when he was beginning to think they were cursed in life, the 12 year old Ibrahim would come to realize that there was going to be a curse that he alone would have to carry. _

_ Somewhere in what was once the northern Adirondack Mountains, a mountain range in northern New York above the Catskills, the family had wandered. Of course. It was all that they did. It was all that he and his sister Sufia had known. Just wandering. Searching. _

_ And then it happened. _

_ The snow started to come down. Brilliant. Beautiful. White. Cold. Irradiated. Deadly. _

_ He remembered that the four of them started to run. They needed to find shelter from the radiation. The white specks burned whenever they struck them, each one a stinging, burning droplet. It was such an odd feeling. Freezing fire. Ibrahim was certain he was dying. He was no stranger to radiation sickness, even at twelve years of age but now the symptoms were just getting too intense. _

_ And then his father, probably realizing that he and his wife were slowing the children down, yelled at them to keep running. He said that they would catch up to them later. Mother pleadingly nodded in agreement, desperate for them to listen. Somehow, Ibrahim wondered why he did not get it at that moment. _

_ And so he ran, little ten year old Sufia in tow. She was getting weak, pained and generally disoriented because of the radiation but still he dragged her own. Dreadfully sick himself, fighting to keep lunch from coming back up, he desperately searched around knowing that unless Allah provided a refuge for them right then and there, they would be in Paradise within the next few minutes. _

_ Paradise actually did not seem too bad considering the circumstances they had lived in their entire short lives and yet the urge for survival still screamed at him. _

_ And then, in complete, blinded passion, he found a little hole within the rocks of the mountain. It was just big enough for Sufia to hide in. In one final, frantic burst, Ibrahim threw his sister into the hole and tried to hide himself. Hunkering down as deep as he could go, he still felt the sting of the radiation and yet it was not so bad. But was it because he was losing consciousness? Would his sister have to go through life alone? If he was going to die, Allah should take her as well, there was no way she could make it by herself…_

_ He was not sure when everything went black against the white. He did not know how long he had been out. He just knew that when he awoke the snow had stopped. Wind had blown most of it away. It was relatively safe to walk again. _

_ Where were his parents? Momentarily panicked, Ibrahim looked down. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found Sufia still breathing. Asleep but praise the most Glorious, Most Merciful, she was still alive. _

_ Now to find his parents. Woozy but otherwise reinvigorated, Ibrahim stumbled out of the hole and went back down the path they had came. Had mother and father missed them and walked past? Ibrahim kept walking._

_ He stopped when he found two shapes covered in snow, ominously human shaped. _

_ Ibrahim could not bring himself to confirm the fact. No, he was certain. They were still. They looked so much like mother and father, face down in the white. No. They were alone now. They were all alone. He had to go back and make sure Sufia did not see this. There was no way she would be able to handle this. _

_ Ibrahim heard her whimpering before he got there. Perhaps she had gotten frightened when she found herself alone. Set on making sure she did not get panicked and started searching for their now late parents, he poked his head in the hole. _

_ Before he could say anything, she screamed in fright. _

_ "Sufia, calm down, stop screaming! It's just me! You'll just attract monsters!" Ibrahim shouted back frantically. Sufia stared at him wild eyed. _

_ "Ib-Ibrahim?" Sufia blathered. Ibrahim's brows furrowed. Something was wrong. His voice, it had not sounded the same. _

_ "Sufia, what's wrong?" Ibrahim asked. He could see the look in her eyes. She had not the heart to tell him. _

_ It was when he glanced down at the rotten, raw flesh of his hands, ruined till that they were almost skeletal…_

_ "I'm so sorry, Ibrahim…I'm so sorry…" Sufia repeated, hugging him. Too much in shock, Ibrahim did not feel it, only staring wide eyed into oblivion. _

_ Why had not Allah just taken them? _

Ibrahim awoke. He was starting to hate that dream, constantly coming back to haunt him every few months. He was also starting to loathe the forced quarantine of his current situation and being kept away from everyone. It was very boring indeed. He was also very sorry to hear about Julia's condition. He was also sorry that Sufia could only visit him on rare intervals now. His only consolation was that now James was around more often, just outside his door. The two ended up trading idle chatter though he could tell that James' mind was elsewhere. Who could blame him?

"Are you all right out there, James?" Ibrahim asked, wanting a little conversation.

"…I'm all right…but…" James trailed off.

"What is wrong?" Ibrahim asked.

"It's the second day." James said cryptically. Unknown to Ibrahim, James kept a constant, worried vigil on the quietly sleeping form of his wife, still on his chair right between the two cabins for Ibrahim and Julia.

"I do not follow you, James." Ibrahim replied. He suddenly heard the recording of a holotape.

"…_Time between the first sign of symptoms to expiration can be between several hours to two days…" _Ibrahim waited in silence as he was not sure how to process that tidbit of information.

"What does this mean then, friend?" Ibrahim asked. James' voice was bone chillingly monotone.

"Either she walks away from this forever scarred…or today is the last chance I will ever get to tell her I love her." James replied. Ibrahim let his chin sink in his chest as he pondered what to say.

"Shall we pray, friend?" Ibrahim offered.

"Yes…let us pray." James said weakly.

* * *

_Author's Note: _Once again, I'd like to thank EasyCompany for this diligent and faithful work in this co-authorship. Two, thanks to all of those reviewing and keeping track. It helps in keeping the chapters written despite other work that needs to be done.

We have a list of actors from Mr. Snarks. I guess we just need Bethesda to find this and for a couple contracts to get drafted up if these are to get turned into a movie...


	24. Chapter 24

"_Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made."_

-Immanuel Kant

* * *

Scribe Lex and Paladin Hail sat in austere silence at what the two regulators had just told them. The olive green dusters were becoming a common sight with the Brotherhood of Steel here in New York. At this point the organization was probably wishing that for only once they would just show up just for a pleasant chat, not constant excitement.

"What do you mean you saw Lab 18 aircraft trying to get onto Liberty Island?" Scribe Lex asked slowly. Cindy let Mark do the answering as he was a little more eloquent than her raider vocabulary.

"That's just what I mean. We saw their flying machines in the sky and they were trying to land on the island. Phlegyas had scanned the island and said there were EMP weapons over there. That might explain why you lost your men all of a sudden when you first sent them there all those years ago." Mark explained.

"But Lab 18 is supposed to be a branch of the Commonwealth up north from here." Lex murmured. He seemed a bit disturbed by this. Paladin Hail, still in his power armor, turned to the regulators.

"You do realize that this is quite an accusation? It is Lab 18 that supplies us with important and rare pieces of equipment that often help our wounded." Hail replied. Mark nodded.

"That's why I saved this for last. It's a recording from a transmission we received. Play it, Norad." Mark ordered. The Gutsy hovered to attention and played the proper recording.

_"…This…Adam Anders…porting to all Regulators an…Garret…Be on the lookout…Lab 18. They are…the plague…my crew is infected. I repeat…Lab 18 is spreading the plague…one of my crew is infected…we don't…if she will make it." _Mark waited painfully for the response. It did not seem there would be a tranquil one judging from Lex's face.

"Adam Anders? The leader of the Liberators squad?" Lex demanded. Mark winced. What had Adam done to piss them off?

"Julia was the only woman on his squad. _She _is infected with this plague? From Lab 18?" Lex continued.

"That's what we've gathered…sir." Cindy finally stepped in. Standing up, they saw the old man's hands clench into fists. Whatever he was about to say would be drastic.

"Very well. They've dropped this plague on the people of New York and for all we know they've killed one of our scribes. Paladin Hail?"

"Yes sir?"

"Figure out how many men we can spare to watch over the bay and get scribes working on a way back on that island. I don't see why Lab 18 should have it." Lex said.

"Sir, yes sir." Hail replied.

--

His whole life had been one long, endless war. The wastelands of the post Great War does not make a good environment to foster good human beings. Man generally does a poor job with the whole concept of "perfection" and tossing them into a very broken environment does not help the matter. He had already learned long before that one horrible war that he enjoyed killing. It did not matter who or for whom, he would do it in whatever way was possible.

But it was not until Albany that the realization hit him. Somewhere in the murkiness of a new chemical gas that the enemy dropped on him, it all made sense to him. For over thousands of years Man had been dead set on killing himself. Still, some irrational part of man insisted on staying alive. However, as the gas was burning his lungs and flesh, he realized that if he should somehow make it out of that one alive, he would do whatever he could to fulfill humanity's greatest wish.

Death. After all, wasn't that what they were still doing 200 years after the bombs fell? They were still killing each other. Granted the nuclear holocaust did a good job taking care of the majority of the people but still broken fragments remained. If man had not wanted death, the Great War and its aftermath would have seen some kind of difference in the way Man operated and yet still he insisted on killing himself.

And after a stranger's hands had pulled him out of that trench, despite being horribly broken, disfigured and marginally crippled, Giles Vinioux did as he had vowed. He was now hard at work at making sure Man died. All of him.

"Mr. Vinioux, we've lost a whole team trying to investigate one of the villages that was tested. A _whole_ team, Mr. Vinioux. Can you not spare any more of your men to protect our own?" A Lab 18 representative demanded. Vinioux was not a pleasant sight to behold even when the man was in a good mood. He usually wasn't. Simply put, all of the Lab 18 representatives that had to deal with him were certain that if anything, the man just wasn't quite human.

"Was the whole village liquidated?" Vinioux demanded. A patchwork, mostly defunct power armor hung around the shell of Vinioux. Most of the expert Lab 18 agents understood that what was working of this broken power armor was somehow holding the man together. Perhaps it helped to keep out infection. Who knew? His face, what little of it was seen through the broken and gashed power helmet, was horrendously scarred.

"Well, yes, the virus is still a bit too hot." The Lab 18 agent admitted.

"A whole village is gone and you lost a whole team. It's a good trade. Good progress. My men are being butchered enough as it is. We're all drawing losses. This is good." Vinioux said.

"I do not understand, Mr. Vinioux." The scientist spat. In a flash, a heavy combat knife was right next to his throat.

"Would you like me to make it absolutely certain to you, meat?" Vinioux demanded. The scientist swallowed hard, trying to keep his composure together.

"No, that will not be necessary, Mr. Vinioux." The scientist replied and left. Vinioux heavily sat down, a bit disappointed. He should have gutted the man right then and there. Then, his door opened again and a small woman in clean medical robes walked in and looked him over. After gingerly giving the man a type of exam, the nurse finally spoke.

"Is there anything else, have you been doing all right, Uncle Giles?"

"No, that will be all Eleanor." Vinioux answered in the gentlest of voices.

"You're welcome, Uncle."

--

James sat in his chair with a sad smile on his face. God bless Mina and that Rat. It probably did not take away the entire feeling of depression from him but she certainly had an idea bringing Isaac up so that he could at least see his adopted son. Mina playfully waved Isaac's hand at James from a safe distance away from the plastic. Sitting down on the ground, James was able to watch the three shortest members on the ship keep each other company, Rat finding something ridiculous to do when things got too quiet.

Glancing down at his watch, James noted the time. Making sure that the Rad-X he had ingested still seemed to be in effect, the medic quietly slipped open the door that was holding Ibrahim. Inside, Sufia and her brother glanced up at him.

"Is my time up, doctor?" Sufia asked. James nodded apologetically.

"I apologize, but we can't have you getting radiation sickness." James said.

"I understand. Besides, at least he is getting better." Sufia answered. Indeed, Ibrahim had been saying that he was feeling better and was now strong enough to sit up in bed. Still, just to make sure the thing was sealed, they were going to keep him on radiation therapy for another day. James saw Sufia out.

"Thank you…for taking care of him, for us. All of you have done more for us than…well, anyone…" Sufia admitted as she left the quarantine. James looked at her sadly.

"How many years have you two been wandering and this is the best treatment you two have had? Simple respect?" James asked.

"Well, it is a bad world out there." Sufia pointed out.

"No. We just tell ourselves that and use it as an excuse. It is a bad world out there, all the more reason we should pray to God to make us good people." James answered.

Out on the _Half Moon's_ stern, Lowell kept a quiet watch, his arms folded. He had been told that they had finally made it on the Mohawk. Carl was the one to confirm it saying that he was starting to recognize the landscape. It certainly seemed barren enough and what concerned Lowell was that even Carl seemed a bit…uncomfortable. Already they could smell something was wrong.

Sven took a spot next to Lowell as both of the men stared into space. Sven was still carrying his incinerator but oddly enough, he did not have his blast helmet on this time. Even more surprising was the fact that Sven was the first to talk.

"So…about yesterday…" Sven started.

"Yeah, sorry if I got a little out of hand." Lowell said quietly.

"There is a lot of madness in life…but do your best to stay sane. Even if what you did back there helped you a bit…try to find…some normal people to help. There's enough madness in me to deal with." Sven explained. Lowell gave Sven a curious if long look. He wasn't sure if that made sense and yet somehow, he understood Sven perfectly.

"You know…you're not as crazy as you seem sometimes." Lowell told him.

"That's just because my good personality is showing." Sven grinned crazily.

Julia, so miserable that she was certain she slipped into that haze where your mind just shut off the pain and a horrible wave of numbness hit you, looked up when she saw James step into her room. She did her best to try and put the weakest of smiles on her face.

"H-hi…" Julia tried to coo.

"Hi." James said quietly before kneeling next to her. He was not sure what to say. Her color had not returned, the blisters were still an angry red all over her. Her hair was a mess and now her eyes were a rather disturbing example of bloodshot.

And somewhere deep inside, it ached because he could still call her beautiful, somewhere deep inside that knew whatever she had, it wasn't just skin deep.

"How…is Isaac doing?" Julia croaked. James let a wry smile cross his face.

"He is fine. Mina and Rat are keeping him preoccupied." James replied.

"I'm glad." Julia replied, idly letting a hand touch his face. Noticing the blisters on her own flesh, she shakily pulled it away.

She was surprised when James stood up, gently picked her up and then sat down on the bench she was laying on, resting her head on his lap.

"James…you shouldn't- you shouldn't get too…close-"

"Julia, listen to me." James started, bending down to look her directly into her eyes as she felt his hand wrap around hers.

"Do you remember what I promised you?" James asked. Julia's mind was too exhausted to remember.

"I promised you this: that I would love and cherish you, have and to hold, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others to keep myself to you only so long as we both shall live…I'm staying here, Julia…just know that I love you." James whispered. Julia said nothing and felt something wet starting to roll from her eyes.

James wiped the tear away. He did not have the heart to tell her that the tear was not clear but dark red.

Julia fell asleep after awhile but rested in the fact that she was not alone…

--

Mark was not sure what the Brotherhood was going to do. His sentiments were also held by Knight Rufus, Fernando and Paladin Hail. For now, the armored soldiers gathered on the wharf that was the closest towards Liberty Island from the Manhattan side. It was still some distance away but at least they had a commanding view of the area. It did not change the fact that there was too much distance between them. It did not help with the idea of trying to oust Lab 18.

"Scouts have been dispatched, Paladin. They will try to find any derelict ships that might have been overlooked. We also have some soldiers trying to see what deals can be made at the local traffic points." An armored soldier reported to Paladin Hail.

"Thank you, knight. Carry on." Paladin Hail dismissed. Meanwhile, Knight Rufus and Fernando looked on.

"You know…she still looks kinda beautiful after all these years." Fernando pointed out.

"Who? The Statue of Liberty?" Rufus asked.

"Yeah, is that what she's called? I've only heard 'Iron Lady.'" Fernando admitted.

"Yes, her original name was the Statue of Liberty. The real beauty is what she represents. Liberty. Freedom. The right to live and the right to choose. The assumption is that you won't choose evil." Rufus explained.

"Is this one of those metaphorical yet literal, real life, gotto kill the bad guys cause they've taken away the pie and are threatening all we hold dear, things again?" Fernando asked semi-sarcastically.

"I haven't a clue what you're talking about, Fernando. I think it's just about kicking out a bunch of homicidal idiots." Rufus explained. Somewhere behind them, they heard Norad let out a warning.

"We got another bogey coming in!" the Gutsy announced. Sure enough, another Lab 18 helicopter could be seen crossing the sky. It seemed well beyond anything the Brotherhood soldiers could do.

"Phlegyas weapons system acquiring target. Lock on confirmed. Missile firing." Phlegyas boomed just before a live projectile flew off a launcher.

And yet another Lab 18 craft exploded before falling into the bay.

"We've seriously got to get us one of those." Fernando muttered while staring at the Phlegyas battle walker.

--

James woke just as the dawn's rays crept inside the cabin and hit his eyelids. It was still early in the morning. He felt a little sore from falling asleep in an awkward position, literally sitting up. There was even an odd sensation where Julia's head had rested in his lap all night.

Julia!

James looked down at her. Her eyes were closed, her mouth slightly open. A deep feeling of loss swept over him. The two days had come and gone. He let a trembling hand stroke her hair as he lowered himself to embrace her body. His voice, when it came, was weak.

"I'm…I'm sorry, Julia…I'm…so sorry…" James whispered hoarsely.

"Sorry about what?" Julia asked. James nearly bolted out of the bed.

"You…you're not dead!" James blathered a little too loudly, possibly because his heart was still racing. He technically was not expecting his mistakenly dead wife to talk back to him.

"Did you not check for a pulse first?" Julia asked. Comically, James turned a mild shade of red.

"N-no, but you were all still and…quiet…and the thing said-"

"Fine, do you want me to be dead?" Julia chided in mock sternness, a smile hovering on her face as she crossed her arms in front of her. James glared at her.

"Well you must be feeling better if you're being sarcastic all of a sudden." James retorted.

"I still feel a bit weak and lightheaded…but I feel…okay. I feel good." Julia said carefully and amazingly, sitting up. James did not know what joy hit him but Julia yelped when she felt James hug her a bit too hard.

"You made it, haha, praise be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you're alive!" James cried. Julia tried not to laugh.

"Yeah well, you'll undo everything if you crush my ribcage!" Julia chided. James let her go before smiling and storming out of the room. He just had to tell everyone. First he had to start with Ibrahim. After all, their prayers had been answered.

"Ibrahim! Ibrahim, you're not going to believe-"

James was immediately shocked to feel Ibrahim's hand wrap just a bit too tightly around his throat. Eyes wide, James immediately noticed something was wrong, other than the fact that he was finding it a bit difficult to breathe.

Ibrahim was glowing. A blatant, yellowish green glow.

"J-James…if…if you think…me glowing…is the only problem…you're wrong…" Ibrahim said through clenched teeth. James sensed anger in the man's voice and yet…he picked up the faintest bit of fear, helplessness in the man's eyes.

"I'm…going…feral…" Ibrahim growled.


	25. Chapter 25

"…_The life of this world is but comfort of illusion_._"_

-from the respected Qur'an

* * *

James felt himself quite an in bind, most specifically his throat. He could also tell he was absorbing quite a bit of radiation, especially considering the mini-nuke core was now not the only thing giving radiation off in the room.

"What do you mean you're going feral? How can you tell?" James asked. Ibrahim literally fought to form the words as his grip around James' throat slacked.

"I- I am, it is hard…to…think…I'm angry all the time…nothing makes…sense…" Ibrahim sputtered.

"Maybe if we get you out of this room you will-"

"No! You know as well as I do that…that there…is no going back from this! Please…just…just listen to me…just this once…" Ibrahim growled, trying to hold onto his sanity. James sat down and showed that he was listening.

"Bring my sister…I want to talk to her…one last time…then…I will let you guys execute me…before…before I lose it. Please…hurry." Ibrahim pleaded. James left the room, deciding that maybe Sufia would be able to reason with him. Surely, this was all some kind of mood, right?

It never really crossed James' mind yet that Ibrahim was truly losing his mind.

Fortunately, he could see Lowell and Sufia coming down the hallway right now.

"James, how is everything going?" Lowell greeted. Both he and Sufia gave him odd looks when he practically bounded over to them and handed them both a pill of Rad-X.

"Just follow me, we have a problem." James told them. Lowell and Sufia had no idea what to expect as James led them back to Ibrahim's room but kept quiet.

"James, what are you- oh my!" Sufia trailed off just as James silently slid the door open. There was no doubt about it. Ibrahim, though still on the bed, was definitely glowing.

"Su…Sufia…I- I wish…to speak with you…" Ibrahim wheezed. Sufia walked right past James while Lowell came to his side and spoke quietly.

"What's wrong with him?" Lowell asked.

"He thinks he's going feral." James whispered back. Lowell glanced back at the ghoul.

"I can tell. What are we going to do?" Lowell asked. James simply shook his head. If Lowell could also see it now…

"Start thinking." James replied.

"Sufia…I…don't…have a lot of…time." Ibrahim explained.

"But just yesterday you said you were feeling better." Sufia replied.

"I'm…losing my…mind…Sufia…I'm…going…feral…" Ibrahim wheezed. Sufia gave him a horrified look. Now all of a sudden she could see it.

"What? No…no…no you're not! J-James, he's not…he's not going feral, is he?" Sufia practically demanded. James said nothing. Both he and Lowell had to keep themselves from jumping when Ibrahim grabbed her arm. He was only trying to get her attention.

"Look…my sister…I'm sorry…I'm sorry I won't be there…for the rest of the journey. Please…find what we have all been looking for…you are strong…you will find it…do it for Mother and Father…do it…as Allah commands…"

"You're not going to die, Ibrahim." Sufia sputtered, water already falling down her eyes.

"…Take…the scimitar…it's…all we have left…be safe…please…be safe…don't…forget me…I love you…" Ibrahim practically struggled to say. Sufia held onto him tightly.

"No! No, Ibrahim! You'll get better! You can't go! You can't!" Sufia sobbed. Watching over her shoulder, Ibrahim could feel what little he had left control over slipping from him. He felt sorrow. He felt fear and regret.

He could slowly start feeling…nothing. He looked up to see Lowell and James.

The tone in his voice said it all.

"Help…me…"

James and Lowell both bolted, each grabbing onto one of Ibrahim's arms as they could see his fingers curling menacingly at Sufia. His sister was practically weeping.

"Ibrahim, I don't want you to go!"

"Sufia, you have to get out of here!" Lowell cried.

"Please, Sufia, we'll try to figure something out, just get out of here!" James shouted.

"Please, do not kill him!" Sufia wept.

"Sufia, go!" James snapped. Sufia made the most painfully slow exit in her life, never once parting the look she had on her brother. It was not until she was out of sight that they could hear Ibrahim whispering to them.

"P-please…take…care…of her…" Ibrahim pleaded while yet somehow growling.

"Stay here." James grunted, both men straining to keep him restrained before firmly pushing him back as they both exited the room and locked it. The three men stared at each other wide eyed through the glass for a moment.

"James, what's going on?" Julia asked from across the hallway. They could still hear Sufia crying from somewhere else.

"Julia, lock your door." James said quickly as he and Lowell left to get the others. Confused yet knowing better than to ask questions, Julia tentatively locked her cabin door.

When Lowell and James stepped out on deck, they realized at this point there was no way this was going to end quietly. Sufia was sobbing hysterically, kneeling on the deck, her face buried in her hands. Saffron and Alexandra were glaring at them while a shocked Mina stood off, trying to keep Isaac comfortable. James looked over to the side to see Rat poking his head out of a crate before diving back into the container, lid closing right behind him.

"James, what in the world is going on?" Adam demanded, marching up to him.

"Care to explain why this poor woman is sobbing on my deck screaming you're going to kill her brother?" Alexandra snapped at James.

"Ibrahim has gone feral." James hissed. Alexandra and Adam both looked like they got punched in the stomach.

"What are we going to do?" Adam asked carefully.

"Lowell, get them out of here." James ordered, pointing at Saffron, Alexandra and Mina. There was no reason to have them watching the whole tragedy unfold. Lowell nodded and walked them off towards the stern and ushered them below deck before returning. He returned just in time to see James look at Adam.

"You're the assassin, I figured you might know a way to end it peacefully." James said quietly.

"No! Please, you have to help him! Don't kill him! He's just out of his mind!" Sufia cried, throwing herself at James' feet. The medic winced. This was killing him.

Adam was personally insulted.

"Assassin? So that's what I am now? You want me to go and assassinate our friend?" Adam snapped. James sighed heavily.

"Well, what are we going to do? Keep him locked up in there? I really wish we did not have to kill him either. If he was just lingering with a sickness or heck, even if he was in a coma I wouldn't be suggesting this but this is a little different-"

"And since I'm the professional killer, I should do it?" Adam snapped.

"I don't particularly feel like using my medical skills to take care of him." James admitted.

"Please, you must heal him!" Sufia pleaded, still clutching James' ankles.

"You're still a murderer just like me." Adam stated. James glared at him.

"That's low, man." James retorted.

"Well, don't dump it on me." Adam snapped.

They suddenly heard an angry roar come from inside the ship followed by a metallic bang. Sufia started crying all the more hysterically at James' feet. No longer able to ignore her, James knelt down at looked into her tear filled, blood shot eyes.

"What would you have me do?" James asked of her.

"Guys…someone has to do it." Lowell said softly, having stood there quietly the whole time. Sufia, her face in torment, shook her head all the more furiously.

"Carl, you have an idea on this?" Adam asked the giant man who was keeping to himself the whole time. Carl looked at him in shock.

"I'm not doing it." Carl stated flatly.

"None of us want to do it, I don't even think Sven here is crazy enough to do that but if we have to roll dice or-"

"No." Carl stated dangerously, giving Adam a light push away.

"Fine, take Sufia and get her someplace safe." Adam ordered. You just don't argue with a seven foot giant with biceps the size of your head. Carl picked Sufia up and walked away, carrying the woman with ease.

"No…please…don't…please…he's all I have left…" Sufia wept as Carl walked away. He could hear him whispering to her his apologies.

That left James, Sven, Adam and Lowell.

"It would be too traumatizing to shoot him. He doesn't deserve that." James whispered.

"I'm not snapping his neck." Adam snapped. They glanced at Sven who just shrugged.

"Don't look at me." Sven replied.

"I can't believe we're having this discussion, we should not be having this discussion." James growled, pacing in agitation.

"Well, you're the one that suggested it. You want to keep him locked up and have him starve to death having his hysterical sister watch every second of it?" Adam demanded.

"This isn't helping but I don't particularly feel like doing it either." Lowell mumbled. He had seen enough in the past couple days. James sighed and reached into his bag, fumbling with three syringes.

"I'm going to hate myself for this, I'm going to." James mumbled as he emptied the contents of two syringes into a single larger one.

"What are you doing?" Adam demanded.

"That syringe with the orange fluid…that's radscorpion venom." Lowell identified.

"Med-X to numb him and relax him…the venom to…well, you know…" James muttered, finishing the agent of death.

"Okay, we have something that should…finish…him peacefully. I just don't want to be the one to do it." James explained, holding the ominous syringe.

"You and the rest of us." Adam pointed out. They heard another metallic bang and another screech. The animal that had taken over the shell of Ibrahim was getting enraged.

"What do you want us to do? Cast lots? Throw dice?" James demanded. Adam sighed.

"James, you, myself and Sven will rush in and pin Ibrahim down. Lowell, you lock the door behind us and make sure that we don't get out until it's all over." Adam stated.

"All right…but that doesn't solve the main question." Lowell pointed out. Sven, James and Adam all looked at each other.

"We'll figure it out when we get there." Adam stated. Sven nodded nervously, sweat rolling down his face.

"Very well. But just so you know, if _anything_ goes bad in there, I'm coming in and I'm going to be shooting at everything that's in front of me. So if it comes to that, hit the ground." Lowell sighed.

Below deck, Mina, Saffron and Alexandra sat around unable to do anything. Rat was huddling by himself in a corner. Meanwhile, a very distraught Carl stood up, a sobbing Sufia caught in his arms. She still whispered her quiet protests but was now too exhausted to fight, simply crying into the man's duster.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" Carl repeated.

Above deck, four men walked numbly back towards Ibrahim's room. They did not look at each other. They did not speak. Sitting in the dark of her room, Julia was quietly praying. Unnoticed, the men looked into Ibrahim's room. The man was kneeling, hunched over on the floor. Rage was etched onto his face and yet they could see the faintest light of his soul still holding on in his eyes. He looked helpless within his own head. He was probably pleading with them.

"I'm sorry, Ibrahim." James let out. The other nodded.

"Well…ready?" Adam asked. A moment passed before they all finally nodded.

"Let the misery end…for all of us." Sven finally said.

The haze was dramatic as soon as the door burst open. Lowell swiftly let it open and closed it smoothly behind the three men who rushed in. Sven caught Ibrahim's left arm, Adam his right while James kept what was becoming the ghoul from lashing out and biting anyone. Soon, the deadly syringe was stuck in the man's arm.

No one touched it.

"Please…someone else do it!" James cried. Adam and Sven said nothing, each straining to keep Ibrahim's arms down. James stared at them in bewilderment.

And then, somehow, Ibrahim lurched to the side and slammed into the wall. The piston dropped all the way down, spilling the liquid inside the man as the regulators watched on in breathless silence. Ibrahim slacked and let out a relieved sigh. The men backed away, unsure of what to do.

And then they heard him start to talk quietly.

"…Most Gracious, Most Merciful; Master of the Day of Judgment. Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek. Show us the straight way, the way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace…"

And then Ibrahim lay down and breathed his last.

The door that led downstairs to where the others were waiting was opened rather quietly. Truth be told, no one had heard the approaching footsteps of the four men. Sufia immediately became alerted to their presence, more so than the others. Somehow, they all had a feeling that they already knew what had happened.

Sufia was still holding on to some quickly fading hope.

"Is he all right?" Sufia whimpered. Adam, James and Sven stood silently, Lowell right behind them. James bowed his head apologetically and presented her Ibrahim's scimitar.

"He said that you were to have this…before he passed on." James said quietly.

A crack resounded through the room just as Sufia slapped James hard across the face.

Everyone had been through enough that day. At this point, emotions had gone through the roof and now everyone was exhausted mentally. That could only explain why, immediately after striking him, Sufia grabbed the lapels of James' collar, clenching them in her fists as the endless tears fell anew.

"Why? Why!? Why did he have to go? You said he was getting better! I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…I should not have hit you…" Sufia blathered into James chest. Adam glanced guiltily at his medic. An angry red mark was on James' cheek but instead he could not bring himself to be indignant with the woman.

"I'm sorry too." James whispered.

"Sufia…we already prepared the body as best as we could…he's waiting in a white linen shroud." Lowell explained, having attended a few Muslim funerals from back at Albany. Alexandra wondered where they got the shroud but decided now was not the time to ask. Sufia tried to calm herself down.

"Th-thank you…Alexandra…could we please…anchor the ship? I…I have to bury his body." Sufia asked weakly. Alexandra nodded.

"Very well. We're all going to have to help. We can't stay around too long, I'm sorry." Alexandra apologized and quickly moved to the wheelhouse to take care of the situation.

The funeral itself was a relatively calm affair considering all the turmoil that had transpired throughout the day. Sufia had at least been able to calm down and compose herself to instruct them on the final customs. Ibrahim had to be buried facing East but after that there was little more they could do. A simple steel rod was used to mark the place and yet remain a bit inconspicuous should anyone else happen upon it. Perhaps the hardest part for all of them was the placing of heavy rocks over the body to prevent scavengers from getting at the carcass. In the end, there was nothing else to do but to cover the grave and return back to the ship quickly. Sufia felt torn. For the sake of everyone else, she had to move quickly but a part of her desperately wanted to stay. Ibrahim had been the only family she had ever really known. She had not even been able to know her mother and father very well.

The brother she had loved for so many years had departed her and now she was alone on a journey that she did not know the destination to.

Alone, Sufia contemplated her current fate as she curled up into a sad ball on her bunk that night. It aggravated her but again the water flowed from her eyes, denying her sleep as the torment of the loss washed over her _again_. At this point she just wanted the calmness of sleep to bring her some sort of respite. Still, looking across from her, she saw the empty bunk, yet another reminder that her brother was no longer there for her. She was indeed alone. There would be no more family members to watch over her and be there for her. This was loneliness.

It can kill you, but only slowly as the caustic emotions eat through you.

She was too tired to be frightened when she heard a quiet scuffle in the dark and was almost certain something was approaching her. Whatever it was, she curled up tighter in a ball, wishing the nightmares that had finally become a physical manifestation to go away.

She felt something moist press against her cheek.

_"Squeak?" _

"Rat? Go away..." Sufia whispered. She did not feel comfortable with a large rodent, and the pet of the famous liberators, being so close to her, especially this late at night. Instead of listening to her, she could feel the mischievous little rodent cuddle up next to her, feeling fur under her chin.

Who was she kidding? She didn't want to be alone.

Rat yipped in surprise when she hugged him a bit too tightly.


	26. Chapter 26

"_Before you embark on a journey of revenge, you should first dig two graves."_

_-_attributed to Confucius

* * *

It had been late in the evening after everyone came back to the ship from the funeral and after Sufia turned in for the evening. No one was saying anything much less stare at each other. Julia had unfortunately missed the whole thing as she wanted to play it safe and remain in isolation one more day just to remove any chance of exposing someone to any lingering viruses.

Everyone may have been somber but James was in a flat out depression. At this point it was only Carl, Adam, Alexandra, Saffron, Mina and Lowell in the mess, not counting Isaac who did not know what was going on. However, he did add to the sour mood by complaining a bit, Mina tending to him. It was way past his bed time.

James was too distraught to tend to his son, which was already alarming enough. The medic was awash in a sea of "if onlys" which, though he strictly kept anyone from tormenting themselves with the same tempest, he was bad at enforcing it on himself.

"I should not have fallen asleep...I should have remembered to check on him..." James muttered. He was not sure how that would have helped but it certainly would have made him feel less guilty at the moment if he had.

"It's my fault." James accidentally let out.

"What did you say?" Lowell asked. James did not look up and noticeably felt his blood pressure spike. He was not in the mood at the moment to deal with anything really.

"What did you say?" Lowell repeated, James could feel him towering over him.

"I said it was my fault!" James shouted. The medic was starting to realize that all his dark emotions had a tendency to pull on each other at once.

The shock at being slapped across the back of the head by Lowell jarred them for a moment.

"And you expect me to believe that load of Brahmin manure?" Lowell demanded.

"Lowell..." Adam started, trying to step in.

"Shut up, Adam." Lowell retorted. Adam kept silent.

"How the hell could you possibly think it was your fault?" Lowell questioned James. The medic glared angrily at him. Right now deep philosophies were tugging at the men, such ideas that were rarely if ever seen in the wastelands.

"Okay, if that's the case, then answer me this: What was going through your mind as Ibrahim lost what was left of his humanity? Well?" Lowell inquired.

"I was...I was thinking about...about my wife." James admitted.

"That's right. You were thinking about your wife. And not to sound like a real prick, but she had a higher priority than Ibrahim." James exploded.

"That is not the way it should be! Both of them were entrusted into my care! Yes, my wife is dearer to me, but lives are too easily flushed away out here!"

"If he was in your position, he would have thought of his sister over you." Lowell replied calmly if firmly.

"To purgatory what he would have thought or would have done! They were under our care! Do you realize how many people died under us!? We lost Ibrahim and before him we lost Jared. Before him we lost a lot of good people on the _Defiance._ We lost Tiberius, we lost Galatius. We lost a lot of good men at the House...we lost Leslie...we lost Evelyn..." James trailed off.

"You know just as well as I do we did all we could but we can't control all of that, Vanderbraun. At least you do care." Lowell pointed out.

"I'm...sorry. It's just...we had to take away a good man." James murmured.

"He was a good man. He was a noble person who didn't deserve his fate but James, if he had gotten out he would have killed us all. Look, just vent your frustrations on those that deserve it." Lowell explained before looking at the rest of them.

"This applies to all of you. Push the pain into the back of your mind and then let it out when you're done," Lowell began and then stood. "After you've dropped the hammer on these bastards." Lowell finished.

"That I can do." Adam muttered with a nod. James still stood silently and quietly left in a daze.

"Think he'll be all right?" Lowell asked Adam.

"Give him a day, he always bounces back. He's the moodiest out of all of us." Adam replied before the room fell in silence again.

"What I'd do to make a bonfire right now..." Sven muttered.

–

Julia sat on the bed in the dark. She had heard plenty of commotion throughout the day and figured out the loss that had transpired. She was wondering what she could do for Sufia when she left her cell tomorrow morning. Sufia would be entirely miserable tomorrow.

She looked up when she saw a little bit of light creep into the room as James slipped it open to visit her. She was a bit surprised to find him kneeling at the side of the bed, his head resting on the cloth.

"I'm sorry you were alone throughout all this." James murmured.

"I had the least of it...tell me, what's wrong with you?" Julia asked, stroking his hair.

"Lowell is right...I can't blame myself because of his death...there's just been...too much of it." James stated. Julia hauled up him up next to her. She knew there would be no words to make him feel better so she simply held him close, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm tired...it's been a long day..." James announced with a sigh. It was then that Julia truly heard what was he was saying in his voice.

He had become exhausted of everything, of fighting a war that did not seem to end. It was exhausting putting lives on so high a pedestal in a world that so easily buried them like trash to be discarded.

"I'm...so...tired..." James announced. He did not feel his wife slip his duster off of him and made sure he had his boots off. It took him awhile to get that he was now in fact laying in bed.

"I take it we're really going to have to hope all the viruses are out of you." James chided his wife.

"I've been by myself for two days. I've missed everyone. I've missed you." Julia whispered before she found his lips.

The next morning Sufia slid her cabin door open so she could get out on deck to do the morning prayers. She stepped aside to let Rat shuffle out into the hallway first. Carefully glancing around, the rodent looked up at her one last time as if to make sure she was okay. Smiling softly, she knelt down and briefly rubbed Rat's head.

"Now, are you friendly because you're truly a good creature or do you just like treats?" Sufia asked. Rat did not respond but scampered off in the search of more adventures, possible snacks or mischief. Perhaps a combination of all three.

Meanwhile, Julia was taking her first few steps on her feet since she was bed ridden. She was shocked at how much the virus had taken out of her since a pervasive feeling of weakness was still eating at her despite the fact that she felt otherwise fine. It was going to take awhile for her to regain her strength.

"I…think I may need awhile before I get back out in the field." Julia announced quietly. James stood right behind her.

"I think that would be best myself." James replied.

"Could you give me a hand? I need something to lean on." Julia admitted. Her husband walked right up to her and gently placed his mechanical arm around her back.

"Better?"

"A little, okay, now to get the door." Julia said. Turns out recovery was going to be more of an adventure than she thought. That was also when she noticed her reflection in small porthole of the door. She was a bit dismayed to see the dark spots and pock marks that were left of the healing blisters.

"Um…James…what if some of these marks are…permanent?" Julia asked quietly. James glanced at her curiously.

"I'm just happy you're alive, why would the spots bother you?" James inquired. Julia tried to hide an angry blush.

"Look, I know this is a little stupid to be thinking about how I look and all but-"

James interrupted her with a quick peck on the lips.

"Honey, you're still beautiful. You can make even those marks look cute and if anyone tells you otherwise, I'll give them a good backhand. With my left hand." James told her. Julia smiled.

"Glad I know how to pick them. Okay, let's see if I at least have the strength to open the door." Julia said.

Before she could even touch it, the door swung open of its own accord. They were a bit surprised to see Mina on the other side.

"Forgive me if I'm interrupting but Lowell wants everyone to see him. He's got something important to say." Mina explained.

"Lead the way." James stated before following after Mina, Julia wobbling alongside him.

Walking into the mess hall, they noticed that Mina had simply gathered all of the regulators. The rest of the crew was left out of the meeting. Perhaps it was best kept that way. Information was sensitive these days and there was something to be said about ignorance being bliss.

"This is everyone." Mina announced. Lowell glanced at Julia, as well as everyone else as this was the first time they had seen her in days. Other than her obvious fatigue, this seemed to be an improvement considering where they thought she would end up.

"It's nice to see you'll be staying with the living, Mrs. Vanderbraun." Lowell greeted.

"Please, call me Julia." The scribe bantered back, still leaning on James who showed her to a chair.

"You all right, doc?" Lowell then turned to James who simply nodded to him. Lowell sighed before getting to the point.

"I know all of you are probably wondering what you are doing in here. Well, I think it's time I told you what I learned at the House."

"That's right, you never did tell us what happened there." Adam stated.

"The supervisor that killed Ramirez, he was under orders from Vinioux." Lowell explained.

"Wait, the same Vinioux that's in charge of the Shades, working with Lab 18 and the same guy trying to kill us now?" Julia asked tiredly for clarification. James glanced at her, dismayed that she was already this drained. Lowell took a moment before diving further into the discussion. It was a trip down memory lane.

"His name is Giles Vinioux. I'm not 100 percent sure where he was truly from, but I know that he worked for a group, that we now know as Talon Company. Though they must not have liked him too much, considering that many of their men died when they were with him."

"Wait, how do you know this?" Adam asked.

"After my family was killed, not only did I go hunting the Talons, but I also raided their outposts and strongholds. I was looking for anything that might lead me to discover who ordered it, and how they knew where I was. I accidentally found the answer. Vinioux, who I not only rescued in Albany, but I considered a friend. He had hired them to kill me and my family." The Liberators only shook their heads at that point. Just another bad drama in the wasteland.

In fact, it all started to fall in place, from the connection between the Shades and Lab 18, the plagues that were being dropped and now the death warrant issued on them. Vinioux, never stable mentally to begin with, went off the deep end when he was severely injured at Albany. The plague, Shades and Lab 18 were simply tools he was using in his personal mission to wipe off humanity from the earth.

It was also why they needed to find Fort Ticonderoga. Lowell had heard that was where Vinioux had stationed himself at least when he was at the House. Quietly, Sven pondered how messed up someone had to be if they were clearly more insane than he was. Carl meanwhile dipped his brow before a light went on in his head.

"Ticonderoga? As in Fort Ticonderoga?" Carl asked Lowell.

"You know where that is?" Lowell inquired. Carl nodded.

"Not exactly but I know it's at the very beginning of the Hudson at La Chute. That's what I was told when I lived out here. Sailors would come down from the Northern Hudson and then pull up here in the Mohawk. Some of them had come from around Ticonderoga." Carl explained.

Meanwhile, Mina appeared, this time dragging a rather out of place Alexandra who was carrying the maps.

"Anyone care to explain to me what's going on?" Alexandra asked, brushing her long black hair out of her face. No one answered but instead they started searching the map.

"Here, I believe that's where it is." Carl said, pointing at the map. Sure enough, there was Ticonderoga designated on the parchment.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you but I feel like ending this thing." Lowell announced. Adam cleared his throat.

"I don't blame you Lowell, but we're on the wrong end of the Hudson. We have to see what's left of the communities on the Mohawk before we turn around. Then we can go up to Ticonderoga. Alexandra, how long do you think it will take us to see the rest of the Mohawk?" Adam asked. Alexandra did some quick mental calculations.

"Probably another two to three days." Alexandra suggested.

"Three or four." Carl amended confidently. Alexandra shrugged

"Well, there you go." Alexandra replied.

"Fine. It'll be another week or two before we get there." Adam said.

"I really wish we didn't have to wait that long." Lowell murmured.

"Yeah, but I'm not about to half complete a job from Francis. As much as I don't like the Shades, I hate that old coot's temper even more." Adam admitted.

"Have you even seen his temper?" Lowell chuckled.

"Nope, that's why I'm afraid of it." Adam replied.

Carl leaned against the railing of the ship, watching the shore drift by him. Concern was etched on his face as he quietly rapped his fingers on the metal tubing. Sven walked up to him.

"You look like you could use a live grenade or two." Sven stated. Carl raised an eyebrow at him before he deciphered what Sven was actually trying to say to him.

"No, I'm just concerned. It's so dead. There used to be communities all up and down the river and now its so empty. We should have seen a boat by now or something." Carl explained.

"Didn't we just get on this river?" Sven asked.

"We've passed the first leg of the journey. There should have been at least one community but I've seen nothing." Carl stated.

"Think they went further inland? Away from the river?" Sven offered. Carl sighed uncomfortably, weighing the idea.

"Most of the communities depended on the mirelurks and fish from the river. Moving further inland would be a desperate move." Carl informed.

"Or it could mean the mirelurks went away." Sven explained.

"That too...but I don't know how likely that is." Carl replied. Sven stood silently for a moment.

"I could toss a dynamite into the river and find out." Sven offered, a smile hanging on his face. Carl stared at him uncomfortably.

"Uh...you hold that thought. I'll come back to you when we really need to use that option." Carl said.

"Oh fine..." Sven grumbled.

In the mess hall, Julia was more than happy to be reunited with Isaac. Now she did not let the infant out of her sight and constantly had him under her supervision. Although Mina and the others had gotten used to keeping an eye on the child, they decided it might not be a good idea to offer their help to Julia at the moment. The adopted mother had a lot of catching up to do despite her general fatigue.

She noticed her husband step into the room and the look in his eyes said that there was yet more bad news.

"What's wrong?" Julia immediately asked.

"Where's Sufia?" James inquired. Almost immediately, the Muslim woman walked into the room.

"Were you looking for me?" Sufia asked. James took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly.

"I...can't believe I just remembered this but I was reading a book back in the Vault library. It was how I knew about the Muslim faith." James started. Julia stared at him, wondering where this was going.

"Oh? Well, that's helpful." Sufia stated uncomfortably.

"There are five tenants of Islam. They are the statement of faith, prayer, the giving of alms, the fast during the holy season of Ramadan...and finally, the Hajj." James recited from memory. Sufia squinted at him.

"What are you trying to tell me, doctor?" Sufia asked.

"The Hajj, or pilgrimage, is the visiting of a place called 'Mecca.'" James stated, waiting for the information to sink in. After a moment, Sufia blinked a few times.

"You mean...this place that my whole family has been search for, what I've been wandering around for all my life...is Mecca?" Sufia asked, the light coming on in her eyes. It stood in contrast to how lifeless James' own face was.

"Mecca...is not in New York." James stated. Sufia's face fell a moment.

"Oh...um...well, where is it?" Sufia asked, trying to remain hopeful.

"It's nowhere here in the former America. It's across the world. Across the ocean. Do you know what the ocean is, Sufia?" James inquired. Hit like a ton of bricks, Sufia sat down. Indeed, too much had hit her within the past 24 hours.

"There's...no way I could get to Mecca..." Sufia stated.

"I'm sorry." James replied. The three of them and Isaac simply sat there in silence. Julia was especially pained, unsure of how Sufia would react. She knew the woman did not need any more pain.

And then, quite unexpectedly, Sufia sighed before standing up. She seemed...strangely relieved.

"Thank you, doctor. I'm glad you told me this. Now...if you'll excuse me...I have some thinking to do." Sufia said before excusing herself.

Saffron was taking care of the stock, making sure once again that everything was in place. It seemed mind numbing to do it over and over again, especially since they had had no transactions as of late but it gave her something to do. She could tell her sister had something on her mind and that usually meant she was in a bad mood. Of course, something seemed odd about it this time though she could not quite place what it was.

It was then that she noticed Saffron descend down the stairwell and walked up to her. Saffron smiled at the woman though she tried to keep some level of respect. Losing someone's only family could be hard. Saffron herself could not imagine losing Alexandra.

"How are you, Sufia?" Saffron asked.

"I'm fine. Could you tell me how many caps this sword would bring in?" Sufia asked, holding up her family's old scimitar. Saffron stared at it in horror.

"S-Sufia! We can't take that!" Saffron cried.

"It is the only valuable thing I have left and only Adam extensively uses blades…he's the only one I've seen my whole life who can get away with it. I need armor and maybe a better weapon. This is all I can offer you." Sufia explained. She was surprised when Saffron reached behind her and then promptly dropped a full set of leather armor right in front of Sufia.

"This is a full set of leather armor, best we got. I'll let you have it for free. Have the Liberators train you on how to use a laser pistol, those can be just as a dangerous as a rifle in the right hands. Just don't make me take your family's sword. That would be wrong." Saffron said. She smiled when Sufia swiftly embraced her.

"Thank you, friend. I will not forget this kindness." Sufia replied.

Carl paced anxiously, uncomfortably, in the wheelhouse. Although Alexandra was not annoyed, she had to admit that it was a bit intimidating having the giant Liberator taking up most of the space in what was usually her spot. Carl did try to be polite about it, apologizing when she had to step closer to the wheelhouse to avoid literally getting steamrolled every time Carl passed her particular spot. She was wondering what she could do to get Carl to step out when the giant finally flung his hands into the air.

"Okay, okay, look, I know there has to be a community out there by now. Captain, could you please stop the ship and let us take a look inland? We can probably get more covered if we both do some searching." Carl offered in a particular kind of desperation. Alexandra glanced at him.

"I like that idea, but I thought Adam was in charge." The woman announced.

"Hey boss! You mind if we do a little land searching expedition?" Carl yelled at Adam, sticking his head from the wheelhouse. They heard Adam's distant reply.

"Why are you asking me? Alexandra has control of the ship!" Carl looked back at Alexandra with pleading eyes. The woman wondered how someone so imposing and muscular as Carl could also have such a soft disposition.

"All right, shore leave granted, we will meet five more miles upriver, sound good?" Alexandra asked.

"Thank you." Carl stated in relief, suddenly wrapping Alexandra in a bear hug.

"You're welcome." Alexandra wheezed.

There was a very short discussion between James and Julia just before the group disembarked. Julia simply was still too weak to go out in the field. She would stay behind on the ship while Lowell, Adam, Carl, Sven, James and Mina would search the ground. The rope lowered, the _Half Moon_ neared the shallows and came to a halt to let the men and adolescent get to the shore. Everyone was almost off with Adam and Lowell still on the ship, everyone else standing in ankle deep water waiting for the last two to join them. Adam was about to get off when they heard the wheelhouse door open.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Alexandra called to the regulators. Adam turned around to face her.

"What is it, captain?" Adam asked. To his shock, he found himself in yet another lip lock with Alexandra. It did not occur to him that this was happening in full view of the others on the shore. It was a moment before Alexandra finally let him go.

"That was for luck." Alexandra said breathlessly before turning on her heels to go back to the wheelhouse. Meanwhile, Adam did not notice most of his brain shutting off.

"Uhh…wait…" Adam sputtered, walking in Alexandra's direction.

"Uh, Adam?" Lowell said, grabbing the Liberator's shoulder.

"Huh?" Adam blathered, still staring in Alexandra's direction.

"This way kid." Lowell instructed, turning the man 180 degrees. Meanwhile, Adam's mind was a rather fuzzy cloud, a storm of emotions suddenly going through him that his mind felt compelled to try and figure out. His brows furrowed, the man felt very thoughtful.

Alas, he was not being very thoughtful about the rope.

The group on the shore, already chuckling, burst in hysterical laughter when Adam absentmindedly _walked_ off the _Half Moon_ without even grabbing the rope. The Liberator landed into the water, the cold liquid brining the man to reality, forcing him to wade in shoulder deep water. He glanced up to see Lowell also laughing, leaning on the ship's railing.

"Yeah, that's how I first felt when my late wife first kissed me…though mine was slightly drier than yours." Lowell quipped before chuckling. Adam gave him the finger before marching as best as he could through the water.

It did not get better for him on the shore.

"Yep, I can see a great future between you two." Sven said, making sure there was no water in his incinerator.

"Shut up." Adam growled.

"When's the wedding?" James grinned.

"_Shut up_."

"How many kids are you planning on having?" Carl pressed.

"Shut up!" Adam shouted.

"So you think after this you won't be afraid of women anymore?" Lowell asked, finally getting out of the water.

"That's it!" Adam shouted.

"Hey, I'm just calling them as I see them!" Lowell protested just before Adam tackled him and the two ended up wrestling in the water. It started going on for awhile, the men just glancing at each other on the shore while Mina sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Carl, could you pick those two up, the last thing I need is them getting radiation poisoning from the river." James said.

"Gotcha." Carl grinned before wading over and fishing the two men out of the water, holding each in one hand and keeping them a wingspan apart.

Following Carl's guidance, they found the ruins of a town just a short stone's throw away from the river. Unfortunately, it mostly empty. The regulators carefully and quietly walked through the hulls of run down houses noticing the bare skeletons along with the empty shell casings that were scattered throughout the place. It was not something anyone wanted to see.

Carl especially was taking it hard. His shoulders slumped lower than usual as he stared at the ground in a frown. Yes, his mother and his late wife died and were buried along this river but did the communities have to go along with them? The giant tried not to let the pessimistic thoughts nag at him. This was but one settlement and there still many more to look through, his own home town was still quite a bite away from this location anyway.

But still the doubts nagged at him…

After breaking up and searching through whatever they could find, they met again in the town square. Things were not looking brighter but at least there was no fighting.

"How long ago do you think this township died?" Lowell asked. Everyone looked to James for some reason. Perhaps his medical knowledge had an idea on how fast bodies decayed. James shrugged.

"Who knows? It could have happened years ago, it could be that scavengers picked them clean. Judging by the lack of rust on the casings, I'm more inclined to say the later than the former. This could have been anything. Anything. We'll never know." James said.

And at that moment, an ominous shadow briefly past them while an alien drone hit their ears. Lowell was the first to react, muttering a curse.

"What?" Adam asked in curiosity. Lowell turned to their team pyro.

"Hey, what did that Lab 18 aircraft look like back at the town awhile ago?" Lowell asked. Sven looked at him.

"Burning, fiery, twisted metal. More burning. Quite a wonderful sight, actually." Sven replied.

"_Before_ you blasted it to the Holy Father." Lowell specified.

"Oh, well…basically like an Enclave vertibird…only without the wings…and one big propeller on top." Sven recited from memory.

"You mean anything like that?" Lowell asked, pointing up at the sky. The others followed their finger. Sure enough, there was a helicopter quickly fading away into the horizon. Only one organization flew that aircraft around these days.

"You got to be kidding me." Adam muttered.

"Well, if those bastards are getting close, we better be steeling ourselves." Lowell stated.

"I wonder if Vinioux knows you are with us." Adam asked.

"I'd be surprised if didn't know by now." Lowell replied.

Back on the _Half Moon_, Julia was sitting in the shade under one of the ship's overhangs while watching the shoreline, Isaac taking a nap in her lap while her plasma rifle rested next to her. She was rather annoyed that her strength had not returned to her but there was only so much you could do about that. Regardless, perhaps this was a blessing in disguise. She certainly had not been spending enough time with her adopted son. That was when she noticed Sufia approaching her. Glancing at her, Julia's face registered a bit of a shock.

Sufia kept her veil and headdress. However, her usual brahmin leather dress was changed a bit, appearing so that it would be more flexible. Finally, Julia could tell by the bulges under Sufia's dress that she was wearing a light armor of some sort. Hanging from one of Sufia's hips was her family's scimitar. Meanwhile, her other hand carefully but firmly clutched her laser pistol. The Muslim woman approached the scribe.

"You're good with energy weapons, right?" Sufia asked, a new found determination in her voice, something that not even Sufia knew she had.

"I was specifically trained in them, yes." Julia replied.

"Train me to use this. Please." Sufia said, offering the laser pistol.

A dead super mutant spilling its last drops of blood from a gaping wound in its neck behind him, Daniel Siaga rushed as an unseen shadow from the outskirts of Albany. For the most part, his mission was accomplished. Still cloaked but making sure he would be unheard, the Enclave agent talked into his communicator.

"Command, this is Delta Sierra. I've gathered the information from the archives in Albany. Apparently, the Phlegyas Urban Defense System is a type of weapons platform developed by the national guard before the War. Phlegyas was actually the largest and most lethal of three models, the Reaper being the smallest and used only for non-lethal riot control situations. After the Reaper was the Charon model, which could be outfitted with both non-lethal and fully lethal weapons. Phlegyas was the largest and was designed specifically for combat. Unfortunately, only one Phlegyas model was ever completed and stowed in the Bronx. No information could be pulled on the production of others." Daniel informed. An Enclave mission coordinator responded to him.

"Uhh…very good, Delta Sierra. Command has been informed that the report looks developed enough. This disturbance appears to be the widespread dropping of plague throughout most of western New York. Now that we know who is responsible, we have had other agents searching for their locations and headquarters." The coordinator informed him.

"Who did you send?" Daniel asked.

"That is classified. However, we expect a report from them shortly. Athena has been sent to your location to pick you up. You will await then refit and resupply before we send you to your final objective."

"And what will that be?" Daniel asked.

"Most likely the elimination of either the Shades, Lab 18 or both. Furthermore, you will most likely be sent alone." Command explained. Daniel smiled.

"That's the only way I work." Daniel replied.


	27. Chapter 27

"_When I had journeyed half of our life's way, I found myself within a shadowed forest,_

_For I had lost the path that does not stray…"_

_-_Opening lines of Dante's Inferno

* * *

"Doctor, I want to be very clear with you on what I have to say next." Scribe Lex announced to a man only slightly younger than himself who was sitting across his desk. The elderly Brotherhood Scribe, now in charge of the New York City Brotherhood of Steel, sighed as he was not sure how this was going to go down. He could be very well be destroying an important asset that the men under his care had grown dependent on.

However, the loyalty of the brotherhood was stronger than business.

"Although we do appreciate the shipment of bionic prosthetics you send us, I need you to go back to the Commonwealth and get a leash on Lab 18." Lex stated sternly. The Commonwealth representative stared at him in shock.

"Whatever do you mean by that?" the Commonwealth man demanded.

"We are getting reports from the regulators that Lab 18 is responsible for the deployment of a plague throughout most of New York. It would certainly explain the influx of refugees we've been getting in the area. Most important, one of my scribes who has been on fieldwork has become infected by this plague. We do not know of her fate yet." Lex stated, each word calculated. The Commonwealth doctor thought for a moment.

"Hmm…it is high time that Lab 18 got an inspection. I will let my superiors know what you have told me. We all did sense something shady was going on." The doctor finally agreed. The two older men shook hands.

"I'm glad we've come to an agreement." The head scribe stated, seeing the doctor out. The elderly scribe sighed as he watched the businessman leave. Several miles off most of his knights were still watching Liberty Island, unsure of where to go next. The scouts still had not been able to get anything solid in regards to possible ferries to get the soldiers across the bay and Paladin Hail and the other top knights were still unsure on what their best strategy for an invasion would be.

Scribe Lex could only hope that the Commonwealth doctor would keep his word.

Everyone had noticed a marked change within Sufia. By the time the Liberators and Lowell had returned, they had noticed the woman firing off her laser pistol on the other shore at designated targets under Julia's direction. Meanwhile, early the next morning, James and Julia exited their cabin for their morning devotionals and having finished them with Lowell, a new addition to their morning ritual, noticed Sufia with Adam. The woman had anxiously roused the regulator and now they were on the deck, Adam teaching her how to use a sword. The two would spare and parry on deck to the point that Sufia's arm became too tired to use it anymore and she only stopped until her hand finally let go of the weapon in protest.

They could only guess that Sufia was plotting some kind of revenge. They just could not figure out what.

Meanwhile, Carl sat on a bench, watching the shore go by, his chin resting sullenly on a supporting hand. It was not a good situation and it seemed the man had quite given up some of his optimism. No one bothered to suggest looking at the clearly empty villages on the shore. There were no signs of destruction, no signs of mass death. It just seemed that everyone had simply packed their bags and walked away. James and Adam were speculating that between the rumors of the ghoul army and the plague, people were avoiding the area. It would be some time before they would consider coming back home. After all, had they not seen a large mass of refugees fleeing from this area when they had gone to Saint Olivia's?

Still, the giant was not happy about it. It was just the _Half Moon_ and their captured ship in tow on the river. There was nothing else, no one to be found. It was a rather depressing sight and Carl seemed to be constantly wearing a long face.

Meanwhile, Sven and James watched as Adam once again helped Sufia practice with her scimitar. It had already been several hours. James was impressed on the simple fact that the woman had drove herself that long, her arm had to be aching. Indeed, the two of them were sweating. Although Sven and James tried to keep an approving disposition, after all, everyone did need to learn how to use a weapon this day and age, there was a dark thought lurking beneath their minds.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Sven?" James asked, his arms crossed.

"If by thinking you're asking what my mostly sane side is considering, other than cooking up a thermite bomb, then probably yes." Sven replied. James tried to ignore the first half of his response.

"Remember when Adam 'betrayed' us just so that he could right into the center of the Talon Company headquarters, just so that he could get back at Talon Company for killing Leslie?" James continued. Sven nodded.

"Brilliant of him…but also a little more demented than me." Sven muttered. James did not say anything.

"I hope Sufia does not pull any similar stunts." James murmured before walking off.

Meanwhile, Julia was in the mess hall, tending to Isaac as always while Rat sniffed at the floor in an attempt to locate any missed crumbs. Someone had to make sure there were no last bits of food going uneaten on the ship. At any rate, the scribe was enjoying her time with her adopted son when she noticed Alexandra walk into the mess, presumably to go fetch a bottle of water. Measuring her thoughts, Julia carefully weighed her words before talking.

"Alexandra?" Julia asked.

"Yes, Mrs. Vanderbraun?" Alexandra returned.

"About what you did yesterday, to Adam…" Julia started. Alexandra turned so that she faced Julia, giving her her full attention. She was not sure where this was going but perhaps it was only fair that she had to hear what the only female Liberator had to say.

"Look, whatever you're feelings are to him, I just want you to know that we all care about him. Yes, he can be a doofus at times but he's our doofus. He lost the one girl who he was ever really in love with and just a couple weeks ago he found out his last girlfriend was cheating on him. I would just say that you be clear with him on exactly what your intents are." Julia stated. Alexandra simply leaned against the counter and gave a slight smile.

"Understood." Alexandra answered simply with a smile and left. Julia was not sure whether to be relieved or worried.

Up on deck, Sufia yet again dropped her sword. The woman stared at it for a moment before trying to pry open her muscle frozen hand and painfully reached down to pick it up. Adam shook his hands as if to signal to her to stop.

"You can't keep doing this or you will hurt yourself and won't be able to use that arm. Then you'll be no good for a couple days. That's enough for today, you earned a rest." Adam told her before walking off. Sufia let out a short breath before Lowell showed up.

"What are you doing, Sufia?" Lowell asked out of the blue.

"I only wish to know how to defend myself." Sufia replied quickly.

"That's crap. You don't think I know how vengeful you are right now? You reek of it. Did Adam ever tell you what happened to him after Leslie died?" Lowell asked.

"Well someone has to bring the very kinds of people who killed my brother to justice. I don't blame any of you guys for his death. I blame the pirates. I blame the Shades." Sufia snapped. Lowell sighed. He had been down this road before. It was not a pleasant one.

"Sufia, I know how you feel, I-"

"How do you know how I feel? Yes, we both lost our only family but at least yours died to savages. You know how hard it is not to hold a grudge against your close friends who were forced to do that? Again, I don't blame you guys but don't blame me for being just a little resentful. I'm hoping that training with you guys will help me get over the pain and rebuild my friendship with all of you. Hopefully by the time that's done, I'll be ready to kill some of the dogs who do such evil in this world." Sufia growled. Lowell carefully let out his answer.

"Sufia, it took ten years and the blood of countless lives, maybe hundreds, maybe thousands, that made me realize that revenge had become my entire life. When you get to that point, you come to understand."

"Understand what?" Sufia demanded, eyes squinted.

"Understand that when revenge consumes you, you'll seek out another person, and another, until you start killing people who don't deserve to die. Just talk to Adam. After Leslie died, he became so consumed to kill off Talon Company that he sort of betrayed his very own men, James, Sven and Carl, just so that he could get within the Talon Company headquarters and kill them all. It's only some crazy stroke of luck that all of them walked out of that…even crazier still that they're all still friends." Lowell said. Sufia simply stared at her sword, the weapon hanging feebly by her side.

"Someone has to stop this from happening to others…all I have left are my friends…you guys. No one else should have to lose their family like this." Sufia stated. Lowell became sympathetic.

"Who knows, maybe if you get good at it we can have you talk to our boss. But until that happens, I want you to understand that there is a difference between justice and vengeance. When you figure that out, come talk to us." Lowell said before walking off.

The empty towns kept drifting by and by all accounts, it just looked like the inhabitants had just upped and left. No bodies, no bullet casings, no fire or signs of struggle. Ghost towns made empty in the wake of the ghoul army that was only recently defeated, the fear of the plague and perhaps a little encouragement from Lab 18 and the Shades.

Still, it was wearing down on Carl.

Adam sat next to the giant as midday came and went. Carl sat mostly slumped throughout the day. Only about once did Rat wander up to them and he only stayed briefly before finding something else to do. It did not seem like anything was going to get Carl to feel better.

Adam glanced over when Carl suddenly looked up. There on the shore they could see yet another town made barren. There was no one to be found. Even the ships were tied up and empty with no one tending to them. However, Carl's attention was held by the old buildings. Adam had a feeling this town was a little different.

"What's up, Carl?" Adam asked. Carl let a sad smile cross his face before he reached into his duster and actually found a pouch that was under his metal armor. He pulled out a faded black and white photograph and showed it to Adam. The regulator leader squinted at the photograph. A slightly younger version of Carl was on the right and to the left was a rather short woman, almost hilariously in stark contrast to the giant that was Carl.

"That was my Ana. We met in this town. This was her home. We lived here for five years…before…before she passed on. She's buried here too. It was also here that Francis found me on the docks wondering where I should go next." Carl said. Adam looked around.

"…Uh, you want to visit her gravesite? I can tell Alex to drop anchor and-" Carl waved the idea off with a slight smile.

"No. I don't want to remember a cross in the ground. I have Ana's memory in heart. That's how I'd rather remember her until I see her in heaven." Carl said. Adam nodded. Part of him could agree with that sentiment.

"All right, if you're sure." Adam said.

"There is another grave I would like to see though along this river." Carl admitted.

"Oh?" Adam asked.

"Last town on the Mohawk." Carl said.

The next day, Alexandra was busy in the wheelhouse as usual, keeping an eye out in some automated habit of keeping the search up for any inhabited settlements. She sincerely doubted there would be any. Her mind practically on autopilot, she was brought out of her reverie when she heard her door open. It was Carl.

"You might want to power down the engines. We have a town coming up just around the bend." the giant announced. Alexandra looked at him as she gently pushed down the lever controlling the engine.

"Oh?" Alexandra asked, still seeing no signs of a town.

"Just around the bend. Lived there my whole life." Carl explained.

"Ah, makes sense then." Alexandra said.

Sure enough, just as he said, right around the bend was a rather large fishing village. It unfortunately looked just as empty as all the other towns they passed before. Alexandra watched Carl's shoulders noticeably slump as his face lowered into a frown. She could not help but feel bad for the guy. Really, there was nothing she could say either. She settled for gently patting his forearm as she could not reach his shoulder.

"...I'll...get the guys." Carl announced flatly and left.

Due to the nature of the river, after all this was the end of the Mohawk, some logistics had to be discussed. It was decided that once the ground team was on shore, the _Half Moon_ would have to pull up forward and maneuver around so that it was facing the proper direction when the men returned. Simply put, while they were offshore, the ship could be positioned to go back the way they came. That would save time.

James, Sven, Adam, Lowell, Mina and Carl were back on the shallows wading towards the shore when Lowell glanced over at Adam.

"Hey, are you going to walk away from our captain without anything to say?" Lowell asked. Adam glanced at him.

"There's nothing to say." Adam replied with a bit of confusion. Lowell rolled his eyes.

"You think I believe that? I've seen the way you look at that girl and the way she looks at you." Lowell replied. The Liberators otherwise stopped. This wasn't the first time they had to harass their boss.

"Lowell, what do you want me to say? We probably won't live past tomorrow?" Adam asked rhetorically. Admittedly, he was not good with this kind of stuff.

"That's a big, fat comfort. Look kid, I don't know what you should say but personally, there's a lot more I wish I had said to my late wife. But the fact of the matter remains is that that woman up there feels something for you and you her…She is certainly more entitled to seeing your backside walking away." Lowell explained. They waited a moment as Adam furrowed his brows. Certainly a lot had gone on within the past few years. Indeed, perhaps after you subtracted all the frayed emotions from loss and simply trying to survive, maybe he was feeling something he had not felt in awhile.

"There is nothing wrong trying to think this through, but seriously man, if you have to think this hard about it, save it till after the mission. Though if you do that, do your best to survive it." James stated.

"Aw hell…" Adam muttered before trudging back through the waters, a little faster now as the ship was starting to pick up momentum to leave. The agile assassin quickly made it up the rope.

"Hey Alex!" Adam called, rushing towards the wheelhouse. The merchant captain poked her head out of the structure, surprised to see him back on the ship.

"Adam, I thought I dropped you off." Alexandra stated.

"Yeah I know, I just had to tell you something." Adam announced. Alexandra relaxed a bit.

"All right. What did you want to say?" the woman asked. Adam suddenly stopped. He had not really thought about what he was going to say, he just knew he wanted to say something. The assassin blanked out for a moment.

_"Darn it, if James had not sworn off the mentats I would have taken one from him back there." _Adam muttered to himself.

"Well…um…you see, Alex…" Adam sputtered. Alexandra raised an eyebrow at him. What was going on?

"When everything is said and done…would you like to stop by the Vault sometime?" Adam asked. Alexandra let a pained smile cross her face.

"Um, yes…sure. Now is the oddest of times to ask that, but yes, I'd love to see you." Alexandra stated. Adam suddenly let a grin cross his face.

"Oh…well, good. I'll…I'll have to mark it on your map later." Adam said as they both stood around sheepishly for a moment. Adam looked up to see Alexandra also grinning at him. Clearly this was a bit of an embarrassing moment though they both understood exactly what the other was trying to say.

"Hey boss, you know how bad water is for my equipment!? Could you please hurry the freak up!?" Sven yelled from the river. That snapped Adam back to reality.

"Hey uh…I…gotto go." Adam said before rushing back to the rope. He had swiftly slid down to the water when he heard Alexandra call after him.

"I'll be waiting for you, Adam Anders!"

Carl walked through the town looking particularly devastated. There was nothing, absolutely nothing left except empty buildings and empty memories. This time there were no human remains, no evidence that a struggle occurred. The people had just upped and left. Even if people might someday return, Carl felt devastated that his hometown had been reduced to nothing. As the others tried to figure out what might have happened or gather supplies they could use, Carl simply stood ashen in the main street. Down by the docks was where he always wanted to be when he was growing up. It was down there that his mother worked her hands raw handling the catches.

Over there was the common tavern where they spent many a long time simply struggling to survive.

Up there was the rock quarry where he learned how to use a sledgehammer.

And over there...was the cemetery.

"Hey, you all right, Carl?" Adam asked as they all gathered back around him. James tightened the scarf around his neck. It was getting cold again and he was glad he packed that strip of material to keep warm.

"Yeah…um…I just…want to make one more visit." Carl announced before walking towards the rows of crosses. The others watched him.

"Mina and I will go ahead and let the others know you all will be getting back here shortly." Lowell announced. Adam nodded.

"All right, we'll see you soon." Adam agreed.

Carl searched through the crosses, scanning the names. Had it been that long that he had forgotten? No, it was because he never really attended the funeral. He had just stood afar off, too ashamed of what he had done.

He was only just starting to come to peace with what had happened.

And then, he found it. The cross with the right name on it. Carl stood still and gently removed his helmet before his face lowered one last time.

"Um…hi, mama." Carl muttered.

There on the cross was written _"Helena Thompson." _

Carl was not sure how long he stood there. Indeed, he did know that he had come to terms with what had happened. He knew it was a bad situation. Perhaps he could have reacted better but what could you do? After all, wasn't he now trying to make the world a better place? He was certain that if she was still alive and in her right mind…yes, his mother would have been proud of him.

"Well…I'm sure you know the whole story anyway, watching from heaven and all. Just figured I should say hi, mama. Well…we got more bad guys to nab so…well…I'll try to visit again sometime…bye, mama." Carl said quietly before walking off to join his friend.

He felt that finally some burden had left him, an old wound had finally closed.

Adam, James, Carl and Sven returned to the docks just as the sun was setting. Looking around, they could see nothing but the empty Mohawk. They were all looking for a change in scenery after this.

"So…Ticonderoga?" James asked.

"Yeah, that'll be the next target to hit." Adam replied.

"I'll be glad when this will be over." Carl murmured.

"Hey, I'd hate to point out the obvious, being the crazy guy and all, but where's the _Half Moon?_" Sven asked. That was when it hit the Liberators.

"Where the heck is our ship?" Adam snapped as they all glanced around.

They suddenly heard water sloshing around. James was the first to spot the source of the problem. Something was leaving the water close to the docks. All the men pointed their guns at the thing emerging from the river.

"Rat?!" James demanded from behind his rifle.

Sure enough, it was their brown, fuzzy and thoroughly soaked mascot who apparently had jumped off the ship from wherever it was.

"Rat, could you tell us where the ship is? I know you're smart, but unless you suddenly figured out how to talk, how are you even going to tell us where the ship is?" Adam demanded. The drenched mammal sat up on his hind legs and dropped something out of his mouth before squeaking irritably at them.

James reached down and picked up the object.

"It's some kind of cloth…" James murmured, looking it over.

"Why does it look familiar?" Carl muttered.

"Think I should burn it?" Sven offered.

That was when they noticed a very familiar marking on the cloth. Fully falling open to reveal itself as a hood, the men all stared in horror as the realization hit them. From one small piece of cloth, they understood exactly what had happened to the _Half Moon_.

Judging from the fang inscribed markings on the hood, the Shades got to the ship before they could.

* * *

_Author's Note_: _Thanks again to all those who are keeping track of the story. Now, on a note that has occurred on my review board. I do not mind people making complaints or statements of what they dislike of my stories. In fact, I encourage it. Indeed, everyone has a right to their opinions. Matters of faith and religion have profound attachments to their devotees, which is why I incorporated them into the story. I did not feel it would be right to represent Roman Catholicism in James and Julia and a kind of Christian Charismatic in Carl, without also touching various other religions. Although the different religious leaders mentioned in Dusters was an attempt, it does not do it justice. This is why I believed adding Sufia and Ibrahim, followers of Islam, within the story. I am only sorry I cannot represent other characters of different faiths as it gets difficult keeping track of everyone. Regardless, the references to the Qur'an and various Imams is in the same spirit of the references to Rabbis and Christians saints as well as other philosophers. They are there to recall the thought of more nobler aspects of our history in stark contrast to a fallen out world._

_Feel free to have a discussion on the forums about religion/cults/faith in Fallout on the forums. Please do not have it on my review board._


	28. Chapter 28

_They say legends never die._

_But it's only the memory that lives on_

_Even the heroes have to return to the dust_

* * *

Knights Fernando and Rufus lounged around the mobile anti-aircraft gun that they were assigned to, the Brotherhood having been able to salvage it off the capsized _Defiance_. At this point, all they could do was watch the bay and try to take shots at any more Lab 18 helicopters trying to get to the island. Truth be told, they had yet to see anything so the job turned out to be ridiculously boring. Meanwhile, the Phlegyas battle platform was making a regular patrol along the harbor, another system of defense against any more Lab 18 incursions.

That still left Knights Fernando and Rufus pretty bored.

"So, what do you think it would take to get those scribes hustling to find us a ship over to Liberty Island?" Fernando asked his superior. Unable to see it behind his power helmet, Rufus glanced at him with a raised brow.

"Why, what's the rush to get over to Liberty Island?" Rufus asked.

"I just want this over with. I wonder what Lab 18 is trying to do." Fernando explained.

"Plus you make it sound like the scribes aren't giving it their all." Rufus added.

"Well, it's one thing to work on something but then something really bad happens and then the next thing you know everyone is bending over backwards to do it." Fernando shrugged. Rufus stared back across the bay.

"And what really bad thing would have to happen in order to get the scribes bending over backwards?" Rufus asked rhetorically.

"Um…that!" Fernando cried. Rufus immediately looked up into the air to see a fleet of helicopters. All of them were pointed towards Liberty Island.

"Holy crap! Fernando, start firing the guns! I'll notify the others!" Rufus hollered as he dashed for the radio. The younger knight got onto the automatic weapons, sending of a hail of fire into the sky. He was immediately rewarded by one and then two crafts falling into the bay but still the helicopters kept coming. It was the densest fleet they had seen yet.

"Attention all knights and Phlegyas walker, we have a situation, I repeat, we have a situation! Just look up into the sky! Shoot them down!" Rufus radioed.

Outside the city are endless rolling hills, mountains and trees. Almost since the first humans lived in this part of the world, legends and myths seemed to have surrounded the quiet if foreboding landscape. When the bombs fell 200 years ago, it nearly erased the memories and the ghosts of the land.

Nearly.

But now new legends are rising.

Yes, there is the legend of a dark scourge, an illness, that swept through whole communities and displaced so many people. So great was the scourge of the virus that those infected could die within hours. There is also the legend of a society, an organization of evil that shepherded misery and destruction in its wake. So many were oppressed under them and their influence seemed to know no bounds.

And then there was the legend of the Liberators.

Stories of a small band of heroes who accomplished feats larger than life. So many great and wondrous things they did and yet still having time for the poor and forgotten, it almost seemed as if they could not in fact be real. Some said they were spirits or simply tales told to inspire people to do good. Surely, no mere mortals could have accomplished what they did.

Yet, legends start somewhere.

The journey that drove four of the original Liberators from western New York and through the Adirondack mountains, that in itself spreading its own web of tales, was often painted in later years as that of a grand adventure.

What was often lost in the translation was the desperation of the men.

For each of them it had become personal. Sven's hometown had been blasted beyond recognition. In retrospect, despite the many reasons why people would not return there, a major factor was the knowledge that the Shades were hindering people from expanding. Locked into their own communities by fear, why would anyone want to try and repopulate an area destroyed by war? James' home was threatened and now his wife and child were in perilous danger. Carl had lost everything and the fear spread by the Shades and Lab 18 was a fester in what little respect and dignity remained in his own heritage. Adam meanwhile was possibly losing the very few people he let close to him.

Dead center in their targets was Ticonderoga.

"Weeks of tracking, sneaking and nailing raiders at our discretion, darn near getting killed on numerous occasions, helping others to get what little help we could get from them and spending whole days practically running marathons...all for this." James ranted, staring through his scope. In his sights was Ticonderoga, the ancient fortress set in a star pattern overlooking the river.

The four were exhausted and it was anyone's guess how Rat had been able to keep up with them. They ate on the run, drank on the run and they probably would have slept running if they could.

"Any sign of the _Half Moon_?" Adam asked his marksman. James hovered his scope over to the docks.

"Can't miss it. They even still have the pirate ship still hooked up to it." James informed.

"So, how do we get in?" Carl asked.

"I'd say blow the door down." Sven suggested, hand resting on his dual missile and mini-nuke launcher.

"This is the center for the Shades, maybe even Lab 18. We cannot take this lightly or we may find ourselves surrounded." Adam reminded them.

"Let's get closer, see if we can get a better idea on what our options are." James suggested. Adam nodded.

"All right, just remember, all that running and rushing for the past week has all been for this. Let's not screw this up now and get out of here alive." Adam encouraged.

For the men it had been exhausting and yet their passions and emotions had driven them on. For James and Adam, it was also a biting fear for the safety of their loved ones. Carl was certain he would not want to be the shade that James or Adam got their hands on, even more so for James since his wife and kid was at stake.

The giant also noticed something else that was disheartening.

"Guys...my eyes are not the best but I'm certain those are radios they're carrying." Carl told them as they hid behind rocks and the stumps of massive trees. A group of about ten Shades were stationed in front of the main and only door leading into and out of the fort.

"We'd have to kill them all at once or they will talk into their radios and give us away." Adam murmured.

"Any way you could drop a mini-nuke from here, Sven?" Adam asked. Sven shook his head.

"Too far, the incline is against us and there nothing to cover me or hide me out there." Sven reported in frustration.

"Then how are we going to get...what...the...heck..." James suddenly trailed off, watching through his scope.

"Why, what do you see?" Adam asked in curiosity. James' mouth continued to hang wide open.

"Sven...did you have a plasma grenade on you by any chance?" the marksman asked.

"Yes, why?" Sven replied.

"Is it still on you?" James inquired. The pyromaniac patted the proper spot on his duster before he frowned behind his blast helmet.

"Hmm...can't seem to find that little packet of happy..." Sven murmured.

"Yes, well, it seems like we also left our eyes off of Rat for a bit too long." James added. The men glanced around suddenly realizing their rodent was no longer with them. They stared back at James in shock.

"No...way..." Carl sputtered.

"You're kidding right?" Adam demanded.

"I'm watching it and I don't believe it." James replied.

Sure enough, Rat had managed to snatch Sven's only plasma grenade and had waddled off towards the far side of the fort, grenade hanging in his mouth. Then, his claws making short work of the jagged stonework, the rodent had managed to find a way to crawl above the heads of the Shade guards and was now sitting above the door post, his snout securely around the safety pin.

Truth be told, the rodent had not thought this completely through. He had just observed in the past that the one individual with the giant breathing bubble often carried cylinders that generally made loud noises. In Rat's mind, loud noises logically meant that you had to run. Follow the train of thought and this little cylinder should do just that to the bad guys down there, right?

Sitting back on his hind legs, Rat's front paws grasped the plasma grenade and yanked, the explosive ordnance falling from the pin and landing right at the feet of the Shades.

They never knew what hit them.

The ball of burning gas exploded, the heat something that Rat never planned, which promptly caused the rodent to shriek in fright before the chaos and smoke melted away. Just as the dust was settling, a still very startled Rat glanced down to see the four Liberators rushing up. James pointed up at him with a stern finger.

"You stay right here and stay out of trouble. Got it?" James demanded before following the others within the fort.

The men were surprised to hear that there was already chaos erupting within the fortress.

"Someone already fighting in here?" Carl asked, trying to figure out what could possibly be happening as they passed through the entrance and into the courtyard.

"Maybe someone gave us away." Sven offered.

"No, it just means Lowell got out of his cage. Now, Sven and Carl, stay here and keep the Shades preoccupied. James, you and me are going to get our people, now move!" Adam ordered. As he and James ran off towards the housing structures, Carl and Sven planted their boots into the dust.

"Ready buddy?" Carl asked, his gatling laser humming excitedly.

"Oh yeah." Sven nodded before looking back towards the open courtyard, seeing the shadows of numerous Shades coming towards them.

"Hey, hey all of you! There were five horsemen of the Apocalypse once. I burnt the fifth one, his name was insanity! Anyone order delivery!? Hahahahaha!" Sven rambled before lighting up an inferno from his incinerator.

Between the blasts of flame and the fury of Carl's gatling laser, the courtyard became a maelstrom of destruction.

Exploiting the attention the big guns of Sven and Carl were attracting, Adam and James were able to dash towards the side buildings off from the courtyard unbothered. Indeed, Adam did not even need to pick any locks. It was a simple case of throwing the door open. Apprehensively, the two men stepped inside before looking around. After a moment of listening, they could hear gunfire coming from upstairs plus yelling. One was definitely Lowell.

"Glad to see that old son of a gun was able to cause a ruckus." Adam muttered.

"I can only hear Lowell." James observed.

"Right, I'll head upstairs and see what I can do to help him. Check the other floors to see that if the others got separated. You can handle yourself alone, right?" Adam asked, readying his SMG. James nodded.

"See you back here." James replied before drawing out his short blade and plasma pistol. That done, the men went their separate ways.

In the air, agent Daniel Siaga, code named "Delta Sierra" sat in his vertibird. Command had requisitioned him with a hardened officer's uniform, ballistic padding under the cloth to offer some protection against both bullets and energy weapons. Still, he did not intend to get hit. His objective was to put Fort Ticonderoga out of its misery through whatever means. Daniel was personally considering the "cut off the head of the snake" approach. He just had to kill Vinioux.

"Um…Delta Sierra, we got something weird here." The pilot announced carefully to the agent.

"What is it, Athena?" Daniel asked.

"Get out your glasses, see for yourself, I'll circle around." Athena replied as the pilot hit a button that opened the side door for Daniel to see. Bracing himself against the wind, the agent peered through his binoculars at the fort.

Apparently, someone had beaten him to the punch. Fire and lasers filled the inner courtyard as vile black smoke rose into the sky. He just could not be sure what exactly was happening.

"Keep circling, Athena." Daniel instructed. His mouth parted slightly when he saw the cause of all the mayhem.

"Enclave Command, this is Delta Sierra, we seem to have a situation. It appears we're not the only ones who want Fort Ticonderoga out of commission, over." Daniel reported into his earpiece.

"This is ENCOM, can you identify these other people, Delta Sierra?"

"It's the Liberators, Command. Over." Daniel replied. There was a noticeable silence over the radio.

"Delta Sierra, there are two robobrains onboard your bird, correct?" Daniel heard.

"Yes, sir." Daniel replied carefully.

"Well then, you have a new set of orders, Delta Sierra. We are transmitting a special program to your robots. Now, listen carefully…"

James moved swiftly through the lower halls, plasma pistol in his mechanical arm, short blade in his right. He found it amazing that he had not run into anyone. Perhaps all the other goons were somewhere else or had already exited once Carl and Sven lit up the courtyard.

Still, he had to find the others if they had been put down here.

Rounding a corner, the marksman immediately became concerned that he still had not run into anyone. This could not be right. In fact, it was all going too easily. He seriously hoped that Carl and Sven were all right. He started to wonder if everyone had been moved up with Lowell. That would probably explain why there was no one else down here. He glanced at the doors but saw nothing that would suggest anything of interest.

James stopped when he heard voices. He listened harder. There was some weeping. James' eyes went wide. He knew that voice. It was Julia. Just before he bolted, he also heard a softer cry.

Isaac.

The door at the end of the hall was torn off its hinges, James' mechanical prosthetic throwing it aside before he brought his plasma pistol to bear in the same hand, swiftly pulling it from a pocket. Inside the room was a row of cells but staring at him in wide eyed disbelief were two Shades and, much closer to the door, a pair of Lab 18 scientist.

Protesting in the arms of the female doctor was Isaac.

An odd but tense moment hovered in the air as everyone tried to figure out what exactly had happened.

"What are you doing with my son?" James asked with an ominous tone. No one answered. No one moved. Granted, James immediately thought that if Lab 18 had inadvertently turned his wife into a human guinea pig, heck, she still hard the scars from the healing blisters, they probably would not have similar qualms doing it to his still infant son.

Not much unlike a similar situation they had with a quiet young girl a year back.

The prosthetic in his hand moved with all the speed of a machine, rapidly aiming, firing and then moving onto the next target. First the lab assistant closest to him and then the two Shades in the back were blasted by the plasma. The last lab technician to his right was run through with the blade. The woman gasped in shock as she felt a final coldness sweep over her. James let go of the handle to catch his adopted son from her weakening grasp. Oddly enough, both father and son were upset.

"I'm sorry, son…I know they're people like us…but some people make bad choices. One day there will be no more of this madness…but until that day, God watch over you…" James whispered to Isaac before returning his pistol to his holster so he could retrieve his blade.

"James? Is that you!?" he heard a hoarse squeal. James looked up to see Julia, her eyes bloodshot as her hands strangled the bars. He looked around noticing Alexandra, Saffron, Sufia and Mina also around.

"Oh, thank heavens! They were going to take Isaac, I don't know what they were going to do with him but they only took interest in him after they found out he was my son and I had survived the virus. Probably couldn't figure out we adopted him." Julia explained, calming down.

"Are you all okay?" James asked, finding the key from one of the bodies.

"About as good as we can be. They tried to have a little fun with us but they regretted it." Alexandra replied.

"Where are the others?" Saffron inquired.

"Sven and Carl are keeping them busy in the courtyard. Adam has gone to get Lowell. He is upstairs, right?" James asked, starting to unlock the cells as fast as he could.

"Lowell managed to break from his shackles. He just tore past us after Vinioux. James, Vinioux has Eleanor, his daughter." Julia explained. James paused for a moment before continuing his work.

"Weird." James muttered before getting all of them. Julia immediately if briefly embraced him hard.

"Get your weapons, we have to get out of here." James ordered, handing Isaac back to Julia.

"Come on you slow pokes, what's taking you so long?" Carl growled through clenched teeth. About several seconds ago they had a major problem. Lab 18 choppers started arriving. Sven might have been able to take a few down but between the aircraft that were able to get through and the surviving Shades that were still firing on them, the pyro was forced to take his incinerator again.

Lab 18 were sending their power armored troopers. The stakes got higher. The fight was now more intense than ever.

"I am the patron saint of fire and these are my blessings! Hahahahahaha!" Sven cackled manically.

Carl glanced over and was relieved to see his group of friends hurriedly rushing towards them. For a moment Carl became horrified with the sight of rounds flying towards them. Gritting his teeth, the giant blasted yet another Lab 18 soldier in half just in time for the others to arrive. It looked like all of them and they all seemed to be at least in one piece though more than a few of them seemed shell shocked.

"Where the freak did all these people come from?" Adam demanded, taking a few pot shots with his SMG.

"Landing in their aircraft. More just keep coming." Carl replied, still too busy trying to nail more of their enemies. Sure enough, they could see more of the approaching aircraft. Adam realized that if they all tried to turn tail and run, they more than likely would all get mowed down. However, half of them were in no state for a fight either.

That left only one other option.

"Lowell, take the others and get back down to the ship!" Adam hollered. His childhood friend stared at him, as if silently understanding what he was saying.

"You're not coming with us?" Alexandra demanded.

"Someone has to hold these clowns back. We'll fight this out and find you guys later. We've walked all the way here, we can walk back!" Adam yelled over the noise. James had joined in taking a few shots from his rifle himself.

"Adam, you know this is suicide." Lowell muttered darkly. Adam grinned way too broadly.

"Hey, that's what they told us last time and look what happened? We're not dead yet!" Adam declared in mock recklessness. Even he knew he was probably fooling himself.

And for a brief moment, despite the chaos, the flying lead and the yells and screams, they all shared one solemn moment. The Vanderbrauns stared at each other with torn emotions and longing, Adam and Lowell passing a brief note of understanding before Adam noticed the hurt look on Alexandra's face. Mina, Sufia and Saffron watched on with sadness. Even Rat understood something terrible was happening.

A bullet bouncing off the ceiling above them snapped them all out of their reverie.

"Get out here!" Adam yelled before turning around and firing blindly. They all listened to the sounds of the retreating footsteps behind them until the four Liberators were certain they were the only ones left guarding the doorway.

"Well…just like old times, right? Just the four of us." Adam said over the noise.

"Right. Before we were famous, before the madness of all that happened, before the House and Evelyn…" James trailed off.

"Before Leslie died…before Marilyn came into my life…" Adam muttered.

"Before Rat." Carl added.

"Before James found himself a ball and chain." Sven snickered.

"Remind me to punch you when we live past this." James retorted.

The firefight continued on and, despite the valiant fight they were putting up and the dogged way they held back the Shades and now mostly Lab 18, they knew the tide was turning against them. Adam could offer little at these distance. Sven knew he had to be running out of fuel. Carl wondered just how many rounds his armor had absorbed and his luck had to be running out. James could also feel that he was running low on the heavy rounds that were so easily penetrating the heavy power armor of the Lab 18 soldiers.

"My gosh, when will they give up?!" Carl growled in frustration.

"Why are there so many of them?" Adam demanded.

"Heads up!" Sven warned just as cylinder landed in their midst.

They had no time to react.

The object promptly detonated. However, instead of fire, they all felt what could only be described as the worst static shock of their lives. Otherwise, after the initial shock, they wondered what that was all about.

"What the heck was that?" Adam grumbled.

"Stupid idiots, don't know how to make a grenade." Sven snickered.

"Um…guys…my gun's not working." Carl announced quietly.

"Shoot…it must've fried our energy weapons." James deduced, realizing that his laser rifle and plasma pistol had become paperweights. With a look of disgust, Carl threw down the gatling laser and reached behind his back to pull out his hammer.

"Well then, time to play up close and personal!" Carl boomed. Adam stepped up by him.

"They stopped firing, let them come to us and then hit them hard. Sven, I'm counting on your to lay down most of the fire." Adam ordered.

"Uh…sorry boss, only got a few more squeezes in here and then I'm out." Sven replied. Adam stared back grimly into the courtyard.

"Make it count." Adam replied grimly.

And them from the smoke and fire, they saw a line of Lab 18 soldiers charging. Sven laid down one wall of vicious flames, momentarily enveloping their enemies in flames. That done, the pyromaniac put the incinerator down.

"Here they come!" James announced before impaling one of the attacking soldiers with a heavy bolt from his rifle. The flames still dancing on the surviving Lab 18 power troops gave them the appearance of demons from out of hell.

James quietly noticed Carl tossing a spent syringe on the ground. It was a canister of Psycho.

The giant roared ferociously before charging into the shocked troops.

Carl swung the heavy hammer like a madman, ignoring the bullets that flew at him as the heavily armored soldiers were simply brushed aside like rag dolls. Anticipating another wave of soldiers, Sven secretly readied his last mini-nuke into his launcher before waiting for Carl to slowly make his way back to them. The giant's duster was shredded like ribbons.

"Happy day!" Sven hollered, launching the oversized ordnance into the center of the courtyard.

Breathing heavily, Carl certain he was also bleeding, they watched the mushroom cloud of atomic fire rise before them. Once again, they wondered if it was all over.

"I…I think we got them." Carl wheezed, trying to catch his breath.

"Hehheh…another place liberated?" Adam offered.

"Wait…" James cautioned.

Out of nowhere, stepping from the flames, a handful of Lab 18 soldiers appeared, yet another wave.

Carl raised his hammer to drop it on the closest soldier. His arm lashing down, the unfortunate victim simply had his armored helmet crushed into his torso.

The soldier next to him unloaded a full clip from an assault rifle into Carl's chest.

Carl dropped his hammer and fell flat on his back.

Adam reacted swiftly, depending on his agility to go from each soldier before they could react, punching a dagger into the slit between their helmets and the rest of their armor. James managed to do something similar with his own blade before tending to Carl.

"Come on, Carl, help me out here, I can't move you by myself." James growled, trying to drag the man. Adam and Sven were hurriedly trying to cover them. By now, they could feel the fear starting to constrict around their throats.

"I…I…I can't…move…" Carl sputtered in shock. James got a better look at his fallen comrade. Just how much blood did he lose?

"Hold on, a little coagulation powder and maybe a stimpack or two." James announced. The medic ducked when a few more rounds went his way. Adam was firing his SMG rounds wildly but with purpose. Sven was taking direct shots with his shotgun.

"Hey…doc…you think there are mirelurk cakes in heaven?" Carl asked quietly. James fished out the proper medication from his bag.

"You tell Saint Peter you're going to be a bit late. By a couple decades or more. You're still needed here." James snapped.

"It's…but…I'm so tired…" Carl replied.

"Stay with me, Carl!" James shouted.

And then, Sven suddenly dropped like a stone. Adam was immediately dragging the downed man further away from the courtyard.

Another Liberator down.

"James, I think Sven's hit bad. Sven, you with us?" Adam demanded. James was about to toss him a stimpack when he heard something that made his heart drop.

Carl exhaled and then did not breathe in.

"No! NO! Carl, you start breathing! You start breathing _now_!" James screamed, hitting the man on the chest.

"Breathe!" James shrieked.

"James, I can't feel a pulse on him!" Adam cried.

"You idiot, the pulse is…darn it, you're hand is in the right spot…" James trailed off, forlornly noticing that for once Adam had found the proper spot to check for a pulse.

They looked over when they heard a completely different sound. Out of nowhere, an Enclave vertibird started hovering towards them. The last wave of Lab 18 helicopters were simply shot out of the sky. Before landing in the courtyard, the vertibird pilot finished off the last of the Lab 18 soldiers with the mounted gatling lasers. Adam stared in shock as a single Enclave officer stepped from the aircraft, two robobrains right behind him.

Too tired to fight anymore, Adam noticed that this wasn't the first time they had seen this particular Enclave soldier. It was the agent. It was Delta Sierra.

James was frantically trying to get Carl to start breathing again. He was blathering mindlessly to Adam on how to try and keep Sven breathing as well though his words were falling on deaf ears. Adam just simply stared at the operative. James barely noticed Daniel step up next to him.

"Is he dead?" Daniel asked quietly.

"I- I can jump start his heart with a stimpack, he can still-"

_ZAP_

James stopped talking when a laser blast burnt a hole in his chest. The medic finally looked up at the agent one last time with completely surprised eyes before falling over onto the ground. Daniel turned his attention to Adam before calmly aiming the weapon.

"We agreed to shoot each other the next time we met. Nothing personal, really." Daniel said before firing the laser pistol. Adam absorbed the burst of energy with a quick jolt and then he too collapsed onto the ground.

Legends may never die but the reality is that people do.

"What are their vital signs?" Daniel asked one of the robots.

"Scanning…all vital signs are reading zero…subjects are deceased." A robot announced.

"All right, run the tests." The agent ordered, looking around.

"Scanning…uploading preprogrammed directives…results compiling…results…negative." The robot announced. Daniel raised an eyebrow as if expecting a different result. He was quietly impressed.

"ENCOM this is Delta Sierra, I believe you've gotten your results, over." Daniel radioed.

"Correct, Delta Sierra, but we have another job for you. We will brief you with the specifics on the way but we need you to get to Liberty Island. Lab 18 intends to take it. We are compiling the latest reports from our agents. It doesn't look good. We only have so many resources so you're going to have to take that island through any means necessary." Command responded. Daniel waited a moment.

"Any means necessary?" Daniel inquired for clarification.

"Affirmative, any means."


	29. Chapter 29

_"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love._

_Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, love._

_Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sadness, joy."_

- Saint Francis of Assisi

* * *

Francis sat back in a chair, his feet propped up on a desk as he read one of the many books from the Vault library. With all these books to read the old regulator realized this was the first time he really felt happy in, well, a long time. Those darn Liberators got all the good stuff. Except for maybe James, all these books were probably going to waste sitting around while Carl, Adam and Sven did their thing.

Then again, maybe they were just a little bit brighter than he gave them credit for. But only a little.

Francis jumped when his radio suddenly cackled to life.

"Attention all Regulators in the New York City area, we have a situation and we're going to need backup. A group called Lab 18 have been spreading the plague through most of New York, as I'm sure you've probably already heard. They have been marshalling towards Liberty Island as of the past 24 hours. We do not know what they are doing but it can't be anything good. The Brotherhood here have been planning an invasion force. We're going to need all the help we can get. Francis, if you can hear this, we'd like to see you here." The transmission stated before repeating again. It sounded like Mark's voice. The old regulator sighed grumpily before opening up a transmission on his own radio.

"This is Francis radioing to all regulators who can hear this. If you're free, get your butt down to the city. If you're the Liberators, you'd better do that twice as fast." Francis snapped before making sure his own message would repeat itself. That done, the veteran picked up his plasma rifle, stretched a bit, his muscles and joints protesting loudly, before heading towards the Vault door.

"Let's see if a couple years of aging made it a little fairer for the wastes coming up against me." Francis muttered.

Mark walked away from the radio set, Cindy in tow behind him. In front of them, they watched Phlegyas standing defiantly at the harbor side, its twin missile launchers continuously pointed into the sky. It did not seem that an hour went by and at least one fireball would get lit up over the bay. Another Lab 18 helicopter sent to the drink. Norad was having the time of his life, shouting encouragements and blaring various old military tunes.

"The Brotherhood said that once they find the ships they can use Ellis Island, which is in between here and Liberty, as a staging area. We're also already getting more squads of regulators from all over the place. The problem is the shipping. We simply need more ships and better ways of landing the people on the shore." Cindy announced.

"Right...good, so long as the word is out. Hopefully we'll be getting some answers to the problems." Mark replied, watching as Phlegyas let loose another missile before another fireball erupted in the sky, burning debris landing into the water.

"Hey, did you hear anything from the Liberators? Surely they would have received our transmission by now." Mark asked Cindy. The blonde shook her head.

"No, which is odd since Julia has a radio, right?" Cindy answered.

"It would not surprise me that they just got a little sidetracked. I'm sure they're all right. They're always all right." Mark replied.

–

"They're not all right." Julia murmured, staring forlornly from the stern, constantly looking back at where her friends had been before they left them. Amazingly, Eleanor had been with Vinioux back at the fortress. Lowell had been able to take her off with them and now father and daughter were trying to salvage over a decade's worth of lost years if not also trying to figure out where their lives had gone. Meanwhile, Alexandra joined Julia at the stern, uncharacteristically stepping out of the wheelhouse.

"Who is piloting the ship?" Julia asked.

"Sufia. She's technically part of the crew now so I'm training her how to do most of the duties around here. She can take the wheelhouse when I get tired." Alexandra replied. They both stared out on the river.

"You're worried about your husband, aren't you?" Alexandra asked after a moment of silence. Julia did not say anything at first.

"I think he's okay. I hope he's okay. I hope he's not too badly hurt if he is." Julia replied. Alexandra noticed she did not say anything after that. Truth be told, Julia could not bring herself to fathom the thought of raising a child by herself, especially after only just meeting James two years ago.

"Well, they've been through worse, right?" Alexandra offered. She would not even bother to try and hide the worry she had for Adam.

"Yes, they had been through worse...but they had backup. They weren't abandoned." Julia replied.

She could not try to dam the worry anymore.

Hot, angry tears fell down Julia's cheeks. The scribe hung her head as she let her grief finally come out. Quietly, she whimpered.

"Oh God...my God...what if they're dead?" Julia asked bitterly. Tentatively, Alexandra carefully embraced the grieving woman.

Alexandra wanted to tell her something but she couldn't bring herself to say anything. You really should not give false hope to a widow.

–

Agent Daniel Siaga idly looked around as the vertibird quickly made its way towards southern New York, back to the city. At first, he tried being patient. However, some things are only suppose to take ever so long. Taking his specially issued sniper rifle, assigned specifically for this mission, he loudly readied a clip into the chamber.

Still nothing.

His patience finally run out, Daniel put the rifle down and kicked the body strapped to the seat across from him.

The man across from him groaned as his eyes opened, rolling his eyeballs around in his head for a bit. Daniel did not give him any time to get his bearings.

"Welcome back from the dead, Adam Anders. Now, if you would be so kind as to wake the others?" Daniel asked. The agent frowned as Adam obliged his request without a shred of grace. Still confused, indeed his reawakening senses slightly overloading his brain, Adam tried to stretch and knocked the man next to him which happened to be James. James cried out in painful shock which in turn woke Sven, the pyromaniac jolting which in turn caused him to knock Carl's small toe. Daniel sighed in agitation.

"Are you all set now?" Daniel demanded. Judging by the general look of disorientation of the Liberators across from him, he guessed most likely not.

"Look, we don't have all day." Daniel stated. That was when he noticed James lock eyes with him.

"Wait minute, you shot me!" James snapped.

"Oh come on, you guys were the ones that told me you'd kill me if you ever saw me again. I was just returning the favor." Daniel complained.

"Well how about you let us keep up our end of the bargain and let us out of these cuffs!" Adam hollered. Daniel rolled his eyes.

"Would you mind just listening to what I have to say first?" Daniel demanded.

"Wait...what happened?" Carl asked, realizing he wasn't awake for what happened.

"He shot us and now he's got us captive! Darn idiot can't even shoot well if we're still alive...ow, my head..." Adam moaned.

"Oh stop being a big baby, you were only dead for two minutes. Your giant friend over there was out for four. He probably got some brain damage but you never struck me as the sharpest tool in the shed, anyway." Daniel mentioned to Carl. The giant frowned.

"A blunt instrument can do a lot of damage if it's big enough." Carl grumbled.

"Touche, either way, you should thank me that I didn't just leave you all there to, well, die and not bring you guys back to life." Daniel muttered, lighting a cigarette.

"If you killed us, then why are we here talking?" James demanded. Daniel sighed. He forgot just how little they knew.

"Enclave technology...well, actually the substances we used were a little...requisitioned, a bit out of this world you might say, but they work and you're all alive. Now, can we get to business?" Daniel demanded.

"Why are we here in the first place? You're not taking us back to your headquarters, are you?" Adam snapped. Daniel rolled his eyes again.

"Seriously. Okay, when you guy were attacking Ticonderoga, I radioed it back to command. They had an idea to shoot you guys and have you scanned to see if you were all androids." Daniel replied nonchalantly. He was met with blank stares.

"And I thought I was crazy." Sven muttered.

"Oh come on! It made sense. Just how did four regular bums like you manage to pull off all those feats that you've done and walk away without, well, dying? Besides, Mr. Vanderbraun over there practically seems to suggest it with his mechanical arm over there." Daniel pointed out. James noticeably became pretty self conscious of his prosthetic.

"Oh well, you could have asked nicely instead of, oh I don't know, _shooting us_!" Adam growled.

"Right, and that could have been failsafe programming. Look, we did it to be sure, you had to be dead for the tests and now you're alive. Everyone is happy, right? Now, we're getting on to business whether you like it or not. One of the reasons you're alive is because ENCOM wants Lab 18 off Liberty Island. Yes, Lab 18 has Liberty Island. They said I could use whatever means necessary which is why I had to bring you guys back. If there were any group of idiots out in the wastes who could help pull this off, it'd be you guys." Daniel replied.

"And if we refuse?" Adam asked, more out of being obstinate.

"Well, your boss is also demanding it, just listen to this transmission." Daniel said before hitting the switch on the radio. Francis' grumpy voice went through the air.

_"This is Francis radioing to all regulators who can hear this. If you're free, get your butt down to the city. If you're the Liberators, you'd better do that twice as fast."_

"Yeah, that sounds pretty real." Carl nodded.

"It might be some crazy Enclave fabrication." Adam warned.

"I'm really getting a headache." James grumbled.

"Hey, my fuel tank is full again!" Sven announced out of the blue.

"Yes, we had you guys requisitioned at a base that will remain undisclosed after we had you guys revived. You're going to need top of the line armor and fully loaded out ammo if we're going to take Liberty Island." Daniel replied. Sure enough, each Liberator could feel that their armor had been restored even if they may still have had bullet holes in their dusters. Carl's was still pretty shredded but James was impressed that they even restored the ballistic padding under his duster which he had put in himself.

"Yes, so you see we're serious about this. Reports show that all of you regulators are marshaling in towards New York City on Francis' command. The Brotherhood are also registering increased activity." Adam announced.

"So why does Lab 18 want Liberty Island?" James asked. Daniel sighed again.

"We don't have any confirmation as to their intentions but we do know they set up a secret base there shortly after the bombs fell when no one could stop them, much less notice them. Intelligence also shows that a Lab 18 submarine is headed towards the island as we speak, most likely to stock them up on men and supplies. We believe that their intentions are simply to set up a base of power there, close to the city which is a hub from where they can spread their influence. Besides, they may want to take care over the city itself. They've committed the manpower and equipment and their armor is technically better than ours." Daniel explained.

"How are we going to stop a submarine?" James asked.

"Drop a bomb on it?" Sven offered.

"From where?" Adam demanded.

"The sky!" Sven replied.

"Will you all just listen? ENCOM is dispatching a few attack vertibirds to take care of it once it surfaces. Unfortunately, we do not have men to spare to take the island. The Brotherhood and you regulators seem set on doing that. We could care less if the Brotherhood sits on the island, we just don't want Lab 18 holding it. They're a bigger threat to us. As far as taking the island goes, this is going to have to be a cooperative effort." Daniel told them.

"I don't know. I still want to shoot you." Adam replied irritably.

"I know, but that's why you're still cuffed and that's also why were hovering over a certain river ship. You can play nice and we can hover alongside them and tell your friends you're all okay, or you can be a jerk unnecessarily and we can blast that ship out of the water. The choice is yours." Daniel offered. The Liberators glared at him. Right under the vertibird was the familiar shape of the _Half Moon_.

"You're evil, you know that? Adam grumbled.

"No, merely a pragmatist understanding he's dealing with a group of people who can be ruthless and have a mild grudge against me." Daniel shrugged.

"Fine, we'll do it. Just don't hurt the people on the ship." James said.

"Very good. Athena, pull alongside the ship. I think the men would like to reassure their loved ones that they're okay." Daniel ordered his pilot.

"Yes sir." Athena replied from the cockpit.

"I would hope that we can be more cooperative in the future with less of the distrust. Here is a megaphone. Just tell them what you want to say." Daniel replied, unlocking one of Adam's shackles and handing him the device. Adam hesitated a moment just as the vertibird side door started to swing open. At first Adam did not know what to say but then he immediately bolted.

"Whoa, hey, get away from that gun! It's us guys! Do not blow us out of the air!" Adam shouted into the megaphone, noticing someone getting a little too close to the Bofors gun. Still a bit too far away, the men could nonetheless see the shapes of their friends gathering on the ship's railing.

"Tell them we're all right and we'll meet them in New York City when we arrive." James told Adam.

"Yeah." Carl agreed.

"Gotcha. Hey, we're all okay. You guys be safe and we'll see you in the city. You did hear Francis' transmission right? Take care!" Adam bid them before shutting off the megaphone and tossing it back to Daniel.

"Good. Now, if you please cooperate as to getting blindfolded-"

"Why?" Sven demanded.

"Because we're going to need a final loadout in anticipation of the future battle. In order to do that, we have to land at another undisclosed Enclave base. That's also where we'll get Carl a new gatling laser. Now, just put up with being blind for an hour or two." Daniel informed them, sitting back and folding his arms as the robobrains started to blind the irritated men.

"I swear you're annoying." Adam grumbled.

"Is that any way to thank the guy who saved your lives?" Daniel asked sarcastically.

"But you killed us first!" James snapped.

"Technicalities. Besides, I didn't have to bring you back." Daniel replied before the vertibird flew off.

Mark and Francis stood in what was quickly becoming a congested part of the Manhattan docks. Well, congested by wasteland standards. Regulators were quickly answering the call though Francis could tell most of his numbers were either still enroute to arriving or simply could not answer.

Even more bizarre was another group of people, these wearing gray coats and armor and carrying an assortment of assault weapons, mostly assault rifles or submachine guns if not variations of them. Mark was trying to get some information out of the squads of these gray squads that were arriving.

"Who are you? Are you here to help?" Mark asked each group.

"We're the Rangers, anything else just ask Lieutenant Scotti Toye." Each group leader would say. Mark still had no clue who this Scotti Toye was. He was hoping she'd show up at some point. The radio chatter had become crazy over the past couple hours with Brotherhood members trying to coordinate activities, regulators trying to get more information, bored mercenaries and adventurers wanting something to do and even a report that the Liberators had died. Also included were speculations, inquiries and reports on just how many enemies were hold up at Liberty Island.

It was all becoming very chaotic.

Scribe Lex who came out to personally survey what was going on stepped up to the two regulators.

"Tell me, are the rumors that the Liberators have been killed…are these true?" Lex asked cautiously. Mark and Francis shrugged.

"I'd sure hope not." Mark replied.

"I think I'll be finding out in a few moments." Francis stated, noticing a very familiar ship pulling up on the nearby pier. Lowell Morgan promptly stepped off the ship.

"Hey, Lowell." Mark greeted.

"Welcome back." Francis stated.

Lowell greeted him back with a fist to the face, knocking Francis off his feet.

"What the hell, Lowell!" Mark shouted.

"You got a death wish, Morgan?" Francis growled, rubbing his cheek.

"Yes, I had one since I was nineteen, now, I want the truth out of you, Garret. Who the hell are you?" Lowell demanded. He still had not forgotten what the Enclave agent told them just before he disappeared after the battle with the ghoul army.

"Lowell, what are you talking about?" Mark demanded.

"Come on, Mark, how do you think he got his hands on this?" Lowell said, motioning towards Francis' plasma rifle.

"Only the Brotherhood and Enclave have such gear, and I heard from the Scribes in Washington that they do not have plasma weapons. They're too valuable." Lowell stated, his words heavy with accusation. Francis picked himself up before taking a calm deep breath.

And then without warning he slugged Lowell hard across the face.

"That's just so that we're even. Don't give me a reason to be really angry with you." Francis snapped. Lowell glared back at him.

"Give me the truth, Francis!" Lowell shouted.

"Gentlemen, could we all calm down?" Scribe Lex declared.

"Who are you really, Garret?" Lowell inquired. Francis glared at him.

"I am a man who believes that all men are created equal and that they are free to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I am a man who believes that the government is of the people, by the people and for the people. It was made to serve the people. Not everyone remembers that." Francis answered.

"So, are you really Enclave?" Lowell pointed out. Lex and Mark stared at Lowell with dumbstruck eyes.

Any further discussion was interrupted by the radio cackling. A very familiar voice went over the transmission.

"This is Adam Anders from the Liberators. Contrary to what you might have heard, we're not dead, at least not right now. However, if any of you Brotherhood of Steel or other trigger happy people down there shoot down an Enclave vertibird coming from the north then, well, we'll probably be dead again, probably for good too. So could you all please be so kind as to not shoot down an Enclave vertibird you'll be seeing shortly? Thanks." The transmission cut off.

Bewildered stares continued as the men heard the familiar roar of the vertibird rotors rumble closer to them until the aircraft was over their heads before landing right next to them. To their surprise, Adam, James, Carl and Sven filed out of the aircraft. Right behind them was the agent known as Delta Sierra.

Even more astonishing was how Delta Sierra walked right past all of them until he was right in front of Francis and gave the old man a full attention salute.

"1st Lieutenant Francis Garret, I am agent Delta Sierra. You are still a text book example, though now your peers call you the 'Old Fox.'" Delta Sierra explained.

Adam was about to open his mouth when Lowell cut him off.

"I already asked him to explain himself." Lowell told his friend. Francis sighed.

"Yes, I was Enclave. I even spearheaded the operation that brought us back to the New York mainland. Then one day when I was in central New York, my squad and I were ambushed by a whole army of Talon Company men. Our weapons and armor gave us the edge even though we were outnumbered a hundred to four. Still, we all ended up badly wounded. I was the only one to survive." Francis explained.

"And we did not have the resources to extract you, at least that's what I was told." Delta Sierra stated. Francis nodded.

"Yep, so I surmised. Always was a resource problem back then." Francis grumbled.

"Still happens today." Delta Sierra murmured.

" Anyway, a couple wastelanders found me and nursed me back to health. I had to figure out how to continue the goal of restoring New York back to its civilized self without any help from home base. When I could not re-establish communications, I decided to take the initiative. That meant eliminating the barbarians, including the Talons and raiders." Francis continued.

"But then you fell off the radar." Delta Sierra told him.

"Yes I did, at the same time President Eden took command. The Enclave forgot the whole reason why the United States government was set up. They forgot that all men are created equal. That was why I fell off the radar. That is why I never returned nor asked for a pickup." Francis explained.

"Could you kindly call off your regulators to stop firing on our troops on the mainland?" Delta Sierra demanded of Francis.

"Could you kindly call off the troopers to stop firing on wastelanders or the intelligence department from experimenting on them? After all, they're citizens of the United States." Francis retorted with a slight smirk. Delta Sierra shook his head with a bemused smile.

"Now I know why they call you the Old Fox." Delta Sierra stated.

"Well, back in the day I was just known as 'The Fox.'"

"What's a fox?" Sven asked in confusion.

"James!" the men turned around just in time to see to see Julia tackle their medic right off his feet.

"Oh thank God, we…I, thought you were dead!" Julia cried, feeling the fabric of her husband's duster getting moist from her tears.

"It's okay, honey, I'm here. I missed you too." James replied with a slight chuckle.

Adam gave a wide grin at Alexandra who was also marching up to him. However, his smile fell when he noticed that Alexandra's disposition seemed a bit sour. In fact, she gave him a rather painful slap across the face.

"Adam, don't ever, _ever_, drive me all up and down the Hudson, put me through near death experiences, sink a good portion of my caps…make me fall in love with you…and then die on me. Don't ever make me love you and then go away." Alexandra said quietly. Adam softened his features.

"Hey, I honestly thought we'd live through this one." Adam replied, holding Alexandra's hands. The merchant hesitated.

"Well, you must've seeing that you're still standing here." Alexandra admitted. The Liberators and the Enclave agent all exchanged a secret glance.

"What was that about?" Francis muttered, noticing the glance.

"Some things are best left classified." Delta Sierra stated, clasping his hands behind his back.

"James, what are you not telling me?" Julia stated. James sighed.

"Well…we did kind of die…and our Enclave friend kind of resuscitated us." For a moment, everyone stared hard at the lone Enclave agent.

"I don't know whether to thank you or try to interrogate you and search for bugs on my husband." Julia finally told the black ops soldier. The agent smiled smugly.

"Hey, remember what I said? We're not all evil…though I guess we're not completely innocent either." Delta Sierra shrugged.

"All right, enough chit chat. Scribe Lex, I believe your knights have come up with a plan of attack?" Francis demanded of the high ranking scribe. Lex nodded.

"Yes, follow me." The older man stated, leading them off.


	30. Chapter 30

_"God creates out of nothing. Wonderful you say. Yes, to be sure, but He does what is still more wonderful: He makes saints out of sinners."_

-Kierkegaard

* * *

Enclave vertibird pilot Athena, at least that was her callsign, and you only used your callsign when you worked this high up with Enclave Intelligence, leaned uncomfortably against the side of her aircraft. Every vertibird pilot learned to love the ship they were given and to know everything about them like they knew the back of their hands. In fact, most vertibird pilots who were lucky enough to survive the wreck of their ships described it as if losing part of themselves. The vertibird in the wasteland gave them a profession and in most cases it saved their lives and the lives of their comrades.

Which was why she was a bit nervous with all these armed wastelanders and Brotherhood of Steel soldiers loitering around it.

Sure, she had heard stories of how savage these wastelanders could be, the more hostile ones anyway. Of course, most of them were just backwards plebeians who lacked technology and education. Sad in a way, but she also understood that they did not have a very good opinion on the Enclave either, heaven's knew why.

Well, considering a lot of the cloak and dagger tasks she had to do, or rather transport field agent Delta Sierra to do, maybe it wasn't a real stretch on why they thought that. Still, they were just people, same way the Enclave were people too, right?

Athena, peering hard through her dark aviator glasses, nervously brushed back her light brown hair and stared at the compound she watched the agent disappear in with all the others. It wasn't the first time the job required her to wait but it had been a long time since she was this anxious to leave a spot.

Arriving just in a nick of time was Scotti Toye, the Ranger leader looking no different than when they last saw her. Furthermore, her presence finally answered Mark's question on who this elusive Ranger leader was. Lowell shepherded the soldier with them as Scribe Lex prepared to explain what their plan was. The makeshift Brotherhood command center was pathetically simple, a plain table with the best map of the New York Bay they had sat in the center of the room.

"We are right here on the south-eastern most part of Manhattan. A bit over to the east is Ellis Island and just a stone's throw away from Ellis is Liberty Island where Lab 18 is." Lex started off.

"Our plan is to get everyone shipped off to Elis Island which we will use as a staging area. Ships that are not very well armed or armored but good for transportation will ferry the men on that leg of the journey. Ships that are properly armed or armored will be used to make the final landing on Liberty Island. The landing zone will be the old docks on the north-western part of Liberty Island. That is also the point that is furthest away from the fortress statue which seems by all accounts to be where the men are garrisoned inside." Scribe Lex stated before motioning over to Paladin Hail who had the particulars of the mission.

"There will be no surprise in this so the initial landing force is going to have to be a show of power that can withstand assault. Most of the Brotherhood forces will be arriving in recon armor where we can provide them. We want to avoid the power armor on account of the EMP weapons but some soldiers will have no choice." Hail started before pointing at the proper places on the map.

The first wave will be a combination of the Liberators and the Phlegyas battle walker. Does the Enclave mind if we put them in your vertibird that makes the first wave and transports the Liberators?" Paladin asked turning his helmet towards Delta Sierra. The agent simply nodded his approval.

"Would not have it any other way." The officer answered.

"Good. Mark, Cindy, we assume you will be able to ride on the platform of Phelgyas when it is transported over."

"Why not just ride in the compartments you found?" Mark asked the paladin.

"Because I and the Iron Storm Troopers will be in them. We will be part of the first wave." Paladin Hail explained.

"Ah. Now, how about the EMP weapons, you said those would be bad for machines. Wouldn't the same be true for Phlegyas?" Mark asked. Paladin Hail nodded.

"The Scribes, after running their tests, found that the walker has hardened electronics. One or two blasts may stun or temporarily shut down the machine but so long as it does not suffer from prolonged EMP bombardments, it should still be operational." Paladin Hail explained.

"Sounds good." Cindy replied.

"After that, it will just be a case of landing the troops in whatever order." Paladin Hail explained.

And things slowed down after that. The gathering army at Manhattan would be sitting around for a few days while the Brotherhood tried to finalize details and prayed for more merchants and other shipmen to volunteer their crafts. In the meantime, there was the danger of an army with nothing to do but wait.

James, never the one to want to deal with the aftermath of a mass of humanity swimming in booze and debauchery, suggested that at least he and Julia hightail it to the House for a bit, at least until the worse was over. However, Francis and Lex were not the type to let an asset go unused. Those who needed training in marksmanship were funneled over the House. At least over there the very stern and proper hostess of the View, May, could help keep unruly people in line. Furthermore, considering the House's recent turmoil, the locals were not too tolerant of tomfoolery either.

The marksman stood behind a row of trainees, all of them with their rifles readied as they stared out their assigned windows. Outside was another building quite a distance away which was set up with numerous stuffed mannequins for target practice. James stood before them with his hands clasped in front of them. He appeared a bit nervous.

"Well, within a short time you all will be shipped over to Liberty Island where we will engage the Lab 18 soldiers. I will not lie to you, their armor is nothing like you've ever seen before. It is tough. Tougher than the Brotherhood or even Enclave armors. However, it is not impenetrable. Most bullets will not be able to breech their armor. You all, however, may find an exception to that rule provided you aim well. Most of you have a higher caliber bullet. Therefore, if you aim for the weak points, their helmets preferably, you can put an easy stop to them which will make life easier for the boys who need to get closer to their targets. Understood?" James asked. A row of nods of various degrees of confidence answered him. James pulled out a pair of binoculars.

"Well then, have at it. I'll be keeping an eye on your progress." James informed. The trainees turned around and immediately started firing into their targets. A quick glance over with his binoculars and James bit his lip in thought. Mina noticed this looking up at him.

"So…how are they?" Mina asked. James hesitated to answer.

"…We may have to bring some extra shovels." James replied. Mina squinted at him.

"Whatever for?" Mina asked.

"To dig the holes to bury the bodies." James answered cryptically. Mina decided she did not want to ask whose bodies he was referring to.

Carl stared down at the prospective heavy weapons soldiers. They in turn stared up at him. The giant African American rubbed his head for a moment in thought before retuning his metal helmet back on his cranium. He had to admit, Delta Sierra did have a point when he made that remark about him not being the sharpest tool in the shed. In fact, the agent was standing right next to him, his hands resting on his hips.

"Well big guy, you got anything to say? I just know the basics from weapons training though I rarely if ever used heavy weapons myself. You're the expert here." Delta Sierra told him.

"Yeah I know. Well, how about you all pick up your weapons so that I can see?" Carl instructed. The new recruits immediately bent over and started hefting up their individual weapons. Carl was mildly appalled at what he saw.

"Whoa now, you all look like you can barely carry them. Do you all at least know how to load and operate them?" Carl asked. Looking into the crowds, he had yet to see someone indicate the negative. Carl took a moment to think.

"Well, you all need to at least be strong enough to pick up your weapons."

"But we are!" one of the recruits protested.

"Nope, don't think so. I see your faces telling me you're a bit uncomfortable. You got to be able to bring them to bear as fast as some rogue pulls a pistol. All right, you all start carrying your weapons and I want you all to start running around in a circle here. Let's go." Carl instructed.

"But how is that going to help us?" another newbie demanded.

"You got to be strong enough to pick up your weapon and then move around it. Lets go, daylight is burning." Carl told them.

In no time Delta Sierra and Carl were in the center of a sweating, aching and sore ring of recruits struggling to keep up to the pace Carl set for them.

"You think you should teach them a thing or two about aiming?" Delta Sierra asked the giant.

"Nah, they don't need to aim. They just need to point. Eventually a bullet hits what they're pointing at." Carl answered.

A selected few of demolitions experts stared in barely contained horror at their trainer. Apparently, the explosives expert of the Liberator squad was missing a few circuits in his head and made up for them in multiple personalities. It was said that you're suppose to love your work but this guy was taking it just a bit too far.

"If you're going to work with napalm and burning fuel -oh glorious, burning happiness- wear your gas mask. Protect yourself with heavy padding that's fire retardant. They may be cheats, but you want to be laughing at others burn, not laughing at yourself burning." Sven explained before putting down his incinerator and then haphazardly pulling out some explosives.

"If you use fire, you got to watch where the wind is going. Not so with explosives. Regular explosion or plasma, it's all good but the plasma is much more fiery. Frags send out more shrapnel than heat. Depends on what you want to do. With those heavy cans out there, frags won't do well so you want to cook them like a can of pork'n beans. If all else fails, brings lots of cherry bombs. Any questions?" Sven asked.

"Uh…yeah, how about the disarming of explosives? What happens if they have traps set up for us?" a recruit asked.

"Oh well, then you just move quickly and disarm the device before activating it again and throwing it at them." Sven replied.

"How fast do you have to be to disarm them?" the nervous recruit asked.

"You got to _want _to disarm them pretty bad. You want to keep your limbs pretty bad?" Sven asked.

"Well, yeah." The recruit answered with a bit of annoyance.

"Well then, you got to disarm them pretty quick. Either their limbs or yours. Either way, explosions are good. Saved my life too and look at me now!" Sven replied with a sadistic smile and over eager eyes. The nervous explosives experts did not seem all that reassured. One of them could be heard whispering if whether this was the best the Brotherhood could find. The scary truth was yes, Sven was in fact the best the Brotherhood could find.

Mina and Eleanor were walking back to the Brotherhood base from the House around late afternoon. With all the traffic going between the area, raiders, mutants and most dangers simply could not be found in this corridor. Furthermore, all those particular dangers learned that the heavy footsteps of the Phlegyas battle walker was their only warning to stay out of the area lest they end their existence in a fine red mist. This was the only reason the two adolescent girls could walk back in relative calm right on the heels of Rat.

The rodent sniffed around as he led them back in the general direction. Finding the place relatively familiar, Rat took a right and scampered down a block. Mina and Eleanor were not quite sure what to do with the new turn of events.

"Rat, wait! We probably should not go down there!" Mina called after the fuzzy mammal before hefting her anti-material rifle and rushing off after their mascot, Eleanor right behind her. Fortunately, they did not need to go far. Where Rat led them immediately had them transfixed. Eleanor and Mina gapped around at the square that Rat had brought them to. The faintest remains of car wrecks were left standing, completely reduced to emaciated frames while everything from the ground to the buildings were left a very scorched black. It was as if a giant bomb had gone off.

"What happened here?" Eleanor asked in shock as they looked around. Rat ignored the scorched sights and continued on a path only he knew.

"I haven't a clue really. I'm curious myself." Mina answered.

"Hey look, Rat's leading us to that thing in the center of the square." Eleanor deduced.

Sure enough, certainly the only thing that did not belong in the square as it was not covered in heavy burn marks was a welded steel cross standing in the very center of the square. Rat walked up to the erected object and placed a paw on it, staring at the cross piece. Mina and Eleanor suddenly noticed the single name that had been etched onto the marker.

"Evelyn." Mina read. The group stood there for a moment until finally Rat let his paw return to the ground and started to turn back the way they came. Along the way, both girls were surprised when a dozen or so more New York Rats scurried out of a manhole. Apparently, Rat was acquainted with these other city rodents as they all chattered and scampered around a bit, much to the amusement of Mina and Eleanor. However, just when dusk was starting to hit the skies, the rodents all scurried back to their sewers, closing the manhole right behind them while Rat led the girls back to the _Defiance_.

By the end of the day, the groups had returned back to the _Defiance_ and Brotherhood base to share their last evening before the battle. At the moment, all that mattered what spending some time together and the sharing occasional laughs. Adam and Lowell were constantly bantering while Cindy and Sven were having an argument over which was better; concussive blasts or immolating fire. Everyone else decided it was best to leave those two to themselves. Apologies, promises and hopes were shared. For the Liberators, all they simply wanted to do was be able to go home after this. When your life is on the line as many times as theirs were, they simply learned to live life on a day to day basis and to enjoy what you could, safety above all else.

Mina, however, had rather odd plans.

"Well, I'm thinking about returning back home." Mina announced. They all glanced at her, Lowell was especially surprised.

"What? You never said anything about going back to Washington." Lowell sputtered.

"You never asked me if I did." Lowell replied with a sheepish shrug. Lowell squinted at her.

"Okay wise guy, that still does not answer why you want to go back home." Lowell replied.

"I suppose this has been a learning experience for me. This is something I can take back with me." Mina explained.

"Mina…you've grown up a lot since you've been traveling with me." Lowell agreed with a smile and a pat on the shoulder.

"How about you, Lowell? You got plans after this?" Adam asked his childhood friend. Morgan took a sip of his drink and nodded.

"Yep. I seem to recall an offer made to me about joining a team a little while ago. I'm seriously considering it." Lowell answered. Adam stared at him. Lowell was thinking about joining them.

"You're serious?" Adam asked.

"Why not? Before now, in groups most people died around me. You people seem to do alright." Lowell explained.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Carl mumbled. The conversation hit a lull for a moment as the group stared into the fire. There would be enough going on tomorrow and there was plenty to be ponder as their souls wondered on what would happen on the morrow while savoring the moment. However, Mina did have a question.

"Hey Francis? You mind answering something for me?" Mina asked out of the blue.

"I can, if your scared friend answers something for me." Francis muttered, pointing at Lowell. Lowell sighed.

"Am I going to regret this?" Lowell inquired.

"When you were in Washington-"

"I am going to regret this. You're asking me about senora, aren't you?" Lowell interrupted the older man.

"Who's Senora?" Julia asked with a raised brow.

"Heh, Senora Cruz is the charter leader in the Capital Wasteland. For some reason whenever I was there, she seemed angry of a man named Garret." Lowell replied with a sly grin. Everyone turned to the New York grandmaster.

"You?" Adam snickered. Francis raised his hands.

"Well, what do you want me to say? She and I worked together, one thing led to another and then I suppose I broke her heart in the end." Francis explained and probably for the first time in their lives seemed a bit uncomfortable.

"She often called you a walking corpse." Lowell stated. Francis rolled his eyes.

"I probably deserved that." Francis admitted.

"What happened between you two?" Adam asked.

"That's something you and I will _never_ discuss." Francis grumped.

"Well, now that you've answered that question, are to answer her's?" Lowell asked, pointing back at Mina.

"All right, what is your question, Mina?" Francis asked.

"Well, the question is…why are the coats green? It doesn't seem like they could blend in quite well." The young girl asked, pointing at her duster. Francis took in a deep breath and raised his eyes skywards. Apparently, a lot of thought had gone into this decision and everyone seemed to hold their breaths as they inched forward to listen to his sacred answer.

"I don't know." Francis replied.

And one day passed into the other…


	31. Chapter 31

_"The task must be made difficult, for only the difficult inspires the noble hearted."_

_-Kierkegaard_

* * *

How do you start your day knowing that it could very well be the last time you wake up? How do you savor what could be the last sun rise you will ever see? How do you rise knowing this could very well be the last time you prepare for your day for this could very well be your last day?

How do you prepare for this day? Living knowing that you could be dying and considering the impending battle, you could die in an instant.

How do you live?

Adam stirs from his sleep having just been woken by Lowell. He knows that as the de facto leader of his squad they will look to him to be the standing example and to be the one who keeps them holding the line, not that they were likely to flee but because that was his job, that was what he was to do. Adam sighs and rubs his forehead. This is no assassination job. Once again he is in a situation much larger than himself that is only a bit over his head.

Mark is making a final cleaning and inspection of his Chinese assault rifle. If there was one weapon that got him out of bad situations it was this one and he was trusting that this device would save his life again. Yes, he has regrets but nothing he could have changed. He finds himself realizing that he is regretting things he had not done because he is assuming he will not survive this. He finds that his only regret is that he has to go into this battle but then again, he would not have it any other way.

Cindy is gathering her belongings. Another battle to be fought, another brawl to get into. Gathering her dynamite launcher, the reformed raider finds that she cannot believe that she is wearing the green duster of a regulator. She does not believe that she found people who actually valued her and treated her like a human being. Such a pity it might all end very soon. Still, she sneaks a object from her raider past into her coat just in case it might be needed, a single canister of jet.

Delta Sierra stares off at Liberty Island on the horizon. He does not plan to die. He plans to accomplish this mission with the same resolve he had planned for all the others. Plan to win, plan to live for there is no point in wondering about death. Should death occur, the mission will be over and there will be not a care for him in the world. Ironically enough, in his heart of hearts he is a church goer and believer.

Francis also stares at the island with a look of determination. The reformed Enclave man turned Regulator sees this as yet another task. Another one of those big assignments, another big fray that he is turning the people under him into. He feels that he has little choice in the matter. His duty has always been to the people of New York. This is another threat that must be dealt with. Besides, he has only been living with the Damocles Sword of death hanging over his head for two decades or more. What was this day compared to that? Just another day, higher stakes maybe but the same hand of cards.

James and Julia are having a frustrated spat, both considering the other's safety while willing to sacrifice themselves. Both are stubborn and both desperately in love with the other. In the end, Julia agrees to stay behind on Ellis and tend to the sick but not before the two hold each other tightly, praying for each other to their God.

In the end, the Liberators all prepared the same way they had prepared before stepping into a great cataclysm. At least this time the archbishop, a sad title really considering the sparse condition of the church in New York and its flock, is there to pray over all of them, all the anxious soldiers and combatants, knowing that any one of them may very well never see the sun set or wake to another morning. The archbishop considers his words before he prays. He knows better than to give these men and women false hope. In his wisdom, his chooses his words carefully and makes an earnest prayer.

"May God bless you and regenerate you. May God grant you strength and courage. Though you go into the valley of death, may He give you peace. May you rest knowing that our Father watches over you and may your souls rest in our Lord. The grace of the Father, the love of the Son and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit go with all of you. In His name, amen." The priest blesses them before seeing before him a giant with his arms raised skyward, a man looking like his is taking an oath, a married couple crossing themselves and a psycho punching the air and crying in exclamation. The priest shakes his head.

"And may He make all things new." James muttered before they all turned to the docks.

How do you prepare for your day knowing this may be your last one?

Across the docks, the eight men of the Iron Storm Troopers clad in their power armor held tightly onto the receiving cables from the Phlegyas battle walker as Mark, Cindy and Norad waited for a auxiliary cord to be lowered and allow them to get comfortable on the upper hull of the Phlegyas. They would have to brave the waves of the bay on top of the Phlegyas platform but there was little other choice. Mark was not about to let a very powerful asset go without him.

"Hold on there, I'm coming with you guys." Francis gruffly announced. They looked over to see the elderly man marching up to them, plasma rifle securely fastened to his back while his pockets seemed to bulge with extra microfusion cells. Mark was a bit surprised.

"Francis…are you sure?" Mark sputtered. The old regulator glanced at him for a moment before looking up at the machine.

"Darn straight I'm sure. This is important and half of my army is here. Besides, someone has to teach you pups how to fight." Francis muttered.

"Think you still know how to throw down with the rest of us?" Paladin Hail asked in amusement. Francis did not even turn to look at him.

"The real question is whether you youngsters will be able to throw down with me." Francis replied before lighting a cigarette.

Stepping aboard the heavily populated deck of the _Half Moon_, two power armored Brotherhood knights did their best to polity shove their way towards their assignment. They were stopped by a woman wearing a veil with a dangerous looking sword at her hip, laser pistol readily in reach.

"Can I help you two?" the woman named Sufia asked.

"I am Knight Rufus and this is Knight Fernando. The Brotherhood told us we were to man the cannon on this ship as we were the best gunners they have. May we use it?" Rufus asked. Sufia nodded.

"Right over there." Sufia pointed it out to them.

Inside the vertibird, Athena the pilot waited as the Liberators strapped themselves into her aircraft. She found this a bit funny. Only a couple days ago and these men were considered priority targets of the Enclave to be taken down if the opportunity presented itself. Now she was transporting them to fight against an enemy that the Enclave deemed more dangerous than them.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Lowell, Sufia and Alexandra were on the _Half Moon_ waiting to bring in the first wave of regulators, Rangers and crack mercenaries and adventurers. The _Half Moon_, armed with its 40mm cannon, would make the trip from Ellis Island to Liberty Island. Saffron was tasked with commanding the pirate ship they had captured, hastily cleaned up and renamed the _Clermont_ under Francis suggestion, would make the runs between Manhattan and Ellis to keep the troops supplied. That did not count all the other ships that had been pressed into the effort.

Julia, Mina and Lex would be waiting on Ellis where they would help coordinate the efforts and tend to the injured who would be returned. By now, there was no turning back. It was only a matter of time until all hell broke loose. What seemed to seal this fact was the Phlegyas Urban Defense System stepping into the waves before precariously floating just above the New York Bay waters, Mark, Cindy and Francis holding on for dear life while Norad noisily complained.

It is the wait that is the longest and most grueling. It is the pause and hold before the battle that eats at you. For the Liberators and Delta Sierra waiting in the vertibird, there was nothing to be said. All were best left in their thoughts. It was almost a relief when they heard a transmission.

"Enclave vertibird, the Phlegyas and _Half Moon_ are nearly there. Best to make your transport now." A Brotherhood scribe reported to them via radio. Athena nodded.

"Transmission received, Ellis Island, Enclave vertibird making the run now." Athena replied before rapidly powering up the aircraft's engines and gunning the throttle. The _Half Moon_ and Phlegyas easily were larger than this aircraft but it would be the vertibird that take the task as being the point of the spear. Delta Sierra looked at the four Liberators across from him.

"Athena may answer to me and submits to my authority as a senior agent. However, when we're in the skies, even I hold on for dear life. I'd suggest you do the same." Delta Sierra stated. The Liberators blankly grasped whatever hand holds they could find. Their grips quickly white knuckled within a few seconds as they found out what Delta Sierra was talking about.

Dodging enemy ground fire, Athena flew her craft like a dare devil, strafing at targets of opportunity, distracting the Lab 18 soldiers on the ground from directing all their fire at the approaching _Half Moon_ and Phlegyas.

"Athena, the Phlegyas in nearly on the ground, it's starting to rise in the water so its legs must have found land." Delta Sierra announced.

"Understood, turning around to buy the men empty ground." Athena reported. Daniel quickly readied his anti-material rifle. Time to step into the maelstrom.

"Guys…the men are jumping off the _Half Moon_." Adam announced, a bit disturbed and perplexed at what he saw from their vantage point.

"Must've gotten beached. The tide should come in soon so they'll be all right." Delta Sierra told them as they noticed the 40 mm gun starting to open fire on the empty land of the island.

"All right, here's the best I can buy you boys." Athena stated before hitting a little red button on her joystick.

On the ground, Lab 18 power armor troops watched as they saw the wading figures of armed men stumbling towards the island, doing their best to dodge fire. On the other side, they saw an imposing machine of war rising from the waters like a mighty leviathan.

And right above their heads was a vertibird dropping mini nukes in rapid succession.

Between the 40mm gun and the mini-nukes, the first batch of defenders was quickly wiped out.

Athena rapidly touched down behind a collection of buildings in between the Phlegyas on the right and the approaching reinforcements on the left.

"All right, time to get out! Move, move!" Athena yelled at the men. Quickly, Adam, James, Carl and Sven stepped off the machine and onto the island. Right in front of them was the Statue of Liberty, her dull and unlit torch beckoning to them even after all these years of neglect. In between them and her was an army of oppressors.

Delta Sierra rushed past them.

"Get into cover, time to move! You want to win this or what?" Delta Sierra belted off quickly. Rushing forward in formation, the Liberators charged towards Lady Liberty.

The Battle for Liberty had begun.

* * *

_Author's Note: The prayer is an original one written by myself. I doubt you'd find it in a prescribed text though I drew from plenty of influences when writing it. _


	32. Chapter 32

_Death we have cheated_

_Hell will not welcome us_

_And Heaven will not have us yet_

_So now we take up our dusters again_

_For the lives of those endangered will we defend_

* * *

Already men were dying. Of course not a few Lab 18 soldiers were in several pieces all over the island from the 40mm cannon if not completely atomized from the mini-nukes. However, judging from the corpses floating around in the tide or left on the beaches, their enemies were not without claws.

It was becoming more than a certain medic could bear.

Though James kept a straight and calm disposition, he was internally horrified that so many were falling already. Along with a younger medic, James struggled to patch up the wounds on yet another field surgeon. He had a feeling that unless he made headway quickly, the man would bleed out and no amount of stimpacks were going to fix this. His frustration became evident when the medic finally growled at his patient.

"Will you stop bloody bleeding!"

James was about to keep working when a bullet slammed through the field surgeon's head.

"He's had it, James, we got to get you out of here, you're a target!" Lowell announced having come out of nowhere, dragging the frustrated medic away.

Alongside the beach, Francis rushed with Paladin Hail and the Iron Storm Troopers. They understood they were obvious targets in their own power armor but the buildings ahead of them were a promising target. If they could get in there, they could buy them and the people on the beach some relative safety. It was just a matter of acquiring it.

Paladin Hail was not sure what to make of the old Regulator Grandmaster charging ahead of all his men, plasma rifle shouldered like he was born carrying it.

Francis shot off the lock that was holding the door in place and, a lot more nimble than the power armor troopers, dashed right into the open door. The sound of gunfire, green flashes of plasma, and more than enough blood curdling screams immediately erupted from within the building. Just at the threshold, the Iron Storm troopers knew that now matter what they found in there, it was not going to be pretty.

Paladin Hail could not help but gawk when he stepped inside just in time to see the wizened old regulator delivering an executing blast to the head on a Lab 18 power armor soldier. Strewn across the room were six other bodies.

And as if to end the good luck, a last Lab 18 soldier blasted into the room from the inside the building, ax poised ready to deliver a killing blow to Francis. As if in an instant and beyond all expectations, Francis immediately caught the ax in his hand while transferring the man's momentum, throwing the enemy over himself and onto the floor before also shooting the man in the head with his plasma rifle. Yet again, the Iron Storm troopers stood in stupefied awe at the old regulator.

"Well? About time you pups showed up!" Francis barked before he winced.

"Ow...my hip...okay, you guys want to take point or are you going to let an old man do your work for you?" Francis grumbled.

The Iron Storm troopers took point.

–

Circling overhead, Athena cast a leery eye on the cataclysm that was unfolding before her. She knew that down there plenty of their enemies were dying, both Lab 18 and the wastelanders alike. Somewhere among them was Delta Sierra sniping off any unfortunate soul that exposed himself just a bit too long. Athena had to be careful with her strafing runs as she noticed that the Lab 18 soldiers were carrying EMP weapons. They had already disabled the Phlegyas and they could do the same with the vertibird.

The chatter on her link came to life.

"This is Michael, taking lead, wingmen, report your status." another distant vertibird pilot, codenamed "Michael" radioed.

"This is Apollo, everything is go." another voice announced.

"Helios here, all systems functional." a final voice chimed in.

"All right, we have the Lab 18 submarine surfacing just ahead. Ready the boarding parties, we'll lower them by rope onto the surfaced submarine tower and hopefully they can take the ship." Michael announced.

"Understood, over and out." Helios replied.

"Copy that." Apollo added.

The storm was in full swing.

–

Lieutenant Scotti Toye was dead. The Phlegyas battle walker, for all its raw intimidation power, had fallen victim to the electromagnetic weapons of Lab 18. Suffering a critical system failure, the machine had become a giant paperweight on the beach. Brotherhood scribes were scrambling to see if they could reboot it.

Nothing could be done for Scotti.

For a moment, no one said anything. The Rangers took the loss of their leader bravely but all of them felt a wave of ice creep over them. James, unable to do anything else for the fallen leader, simply closed her eyelids and shook his head. For a brief moment, despite the flying rounds, there was a lull in the battle.

Agent Delta Sierra put a harsh end to that by firing off a round of his anti-material rifle.

"Not to be a jerk, but we got to keep moving and I can't hold them all off by myself." the Enclave agent snapped. That got their attention. Lowell immediately took command.

"We have some obstacle wires up ahead, we can't charge through that so we got to take it out. Keep the fire up, send word down that we're going to need the proper ordnance." Lowell shouted. In response, the Liberators found the right moment and all of them popped out of cover to open fire. Adam had taken the assault rifle of a fallen soldier and was putting it to good use. Carl was able to fell droves of the enemy with the sweeping burst of his gatling laser while James and Sven aimed for larger targets, the former with his rail rifle, the latter with his missile launcher.

"Bangalores going up the line!" a voice announced.

"Oh, I'm going to love this part. Do you know what kind of explosives I slipped into those?" Sven cackled. The men only gave him a disturbed glance before getting back behind cover to let the soldiers do their work.

"Sven, no matter how much I love you, you're still a scary, crazy bastard." Adam stated.

"Hey, I'm okay with that." Sven replied.

"Well, don't get too happy just yet, Sven, they're going to need you to help set it up." Lowell informed the pyro.

"Sweet!" Sven cried, practically scrambling into the fray.

–

Paladin Hail watched as the last Lab 18 defender was eliminated from the sea side buildings. At last, they were finally cleared and now the men would have some cover while also being given a good firing platform across the open field and towards the Statue of Liberty. Things were finally headed their way.

"Thanks for your help, old man." Paladin Hail stated to Francis. The regulator leader glanced at him before finding a discarded sniper rifle and readied it at a window sill.

"Still let the old geezer do most of the work." Francis muttered with a sly grin.

"I will always have a new respect that I now have for you, Francis." Paladin Hail chuckled.

"Oh? If you thought that was impressive, just know that I'm just getting started." Francis stated before firing the rifle. Paladin Hail readied his own sniper rifle and chose a spot, ordering his Iron Storm troopers to take up similar long range weapons. From here they had a commanding field of fire that gave them relative safety from EMP weapons. What they saw before them was not for the faint of heart. Utter chaos was unleashed upon Liberty Island as it seemed that the angel of death was simply tossing the dice, claiming men instantly and in sporadic droves.

"Keep up, old man. We need to stop these vultures." Paladin Hail chided Francis. Francis simply grunted.

"I don't know what you're talking about, youngster. I count you two below me and just as many misses." Francis retorted.

–

James was wondering how in the world they got themselves into this. He then decided his need to brood could be satisfied later. Alongside the island's central fountain in a depression on the ground, the marksman finished off a machine gun nest when he heard the now familiar sound of Mina's 50 caliber rifle going off. He duly noted this before hearing one of the field lieutenants shouting the order to move up. The Rangers and Regulators covered the distance but it was still going at a crawl. James noticed that the Lab 18 defenders were becoming more desperate now.

"James!" the marksman looked over to see Mark calling out to him. Right next to him was an obviously distraught Cindy clutching her arm, blood pouring from it in torrents. He was still some distance away from them and considering the bullets whizzing past him, there was no way he could get there on his own.

"Carl! I could use some covering fire!" James shouted to the other behind him. The giant stepped up.

"Covering fire coming right up!" Carl announced. The giant stood up despite the bullets flying around and opened fire with his gatling laser. Ignoring the punches where bullets were absorbed into his armor, Carl gritted his teeth as he swept up and down the battlefield. Sven joined in, breathing into his respirator, laying down blankets of noxious black smoke. It bought those behind them some time to cover their advance while James sprinted as fast as he could to Mark, Cindy and Norad.

"Quit your whining and grow a pair!" Norad barked as Cindy.

"When I get better...I'm going to stick a lit dynamite so far up your exhaust pipe...you'll-" Cindy growled, clutching her wounded arm.

"Both of you, shut up! Cindy, James is almost here, calm down." Mark snapped, battlefield conditions getting to him. Granted, other than the raw Rangers troops, the battle hardened Rangers were doing a better job than the Regulators when it came time to psychological stress.

James quite literally fell at their feet, barely getting to a stand before looking at Cindy's arm. The medic frowned.

"Do you feel light headed?" James asked.

"I feel a lot of pain..." Cindy groaned.

"How bad is it?" Mark asked, paling. Mark knew how to stitch up most wounds but this was the worst he had seen.

"You don't want to know..." James muttered. He could feel a dark mood rising in him as he hurried at his work.

"...Am...am I going to die?" Cindy suddenly asked, her heart sinking. Now she felt lightheaded.

"We're all going to die, Cindy. You're just asking me if I can help you live just a little longer." James murmured.

"James Vanderbraun, do not talk like that!" Mark scowled. James did not answer, his brows squinting.

"Got it...okay, it nicked the artery. This should hold but I think it also shattered the bone-"

"Think?" Cindy snapped, noticing the odd angle her arm was dangling.

"You'll have to be careful and find a way back to safety. Pray that if there are any fragments that they don't re-open the artery. I don't think I can help you make it back." James apologized before turning to fire off several heavy bolts. Cindy and Marked looked at each other.

"I'd...help, but I think they need me up here." Mark said.

"I'll make it...I think I've gone through worse." Cindy replied.

"Norad, help her back to safety and then hurry up here." Mark ordered. The machine get a quick salute.

"Yes sir! On your feet soldier, we'll get you to safety." Norad told Cindy.

Meanwhile, back on the _Half Moon_, Sufia had heard Mina's massive rifle going off. The woman immediately understood that the adolescent girl was not suppose to be there. The problem came with trying to find the girl among all the troops crowded onto the ship's deck. Other than the Rangers and Regulators, they were now shipping handful of armored Brotherhood knights, the Brotherhood more willing to send in their power armor troops now that it looked like Lab 18 was running low on its EMP weapons.

Desperately searching for the girl, Sufia found herself swept along with the troops onto the dock and before she knew it the woman was dodging fire along with them. Indeed, the fresh reinforcements had quite the chaotic scene to see before them. Dead and dying from both sides were scattered all over the island while on some places the surf hitting the beach ran red with blood and dismembered body parts. That did not include the still incapacitated Phelgyas battle walker towering forlornly on the beach while guns and broken metal lay everywhere. The bullets flying everywhere whistling through the air only added to the effect. There was a reason the troops all simply came to a stuttering halt at what they saw. Sufia was among them as well, horrified at what she saw.

And then she realized something. This was the last holdout of Lab 18, the allies of the Shades. The very people that had been the cause of all their misery for the past couple weeks. Yes, Ibrahim had died from his wounds by river pirates.

But it was the Shades that had violated her.

And then Sufia felt something she had never quite felt before. It was a rather different kind of rage mixed together with adrenaline and some indignation. A burning high took a hold of her and before she knew it, she was charging ahead of all the stupefied soldiers.

"Are you all just going to stand there! Charge!" Sufia screamed before letting out a shrill war cry and drawing her scimitar high into the air. Knocked out of their reverie and a bit embarrassed that it was a lightly armed and armored woman leading the charge, the soldiers followed right behind her and into the fight.

Up front, Lowell, James, Sven, Carl, Adam and Mark watched something that only brought horror to them. Their lines had slowed so much that the Lab 18 power armor troopers had launched a counter charge. Their own soldiers were doggedly holding their positions only by the skin of their teeth.

"More idiots incoming! Carl, I want to hear you gun sing!" Adam shouted. They all did what they could for the giant, doing their best to keep anyone from drawing a good shot on him while he worked his hardest to hold back the brunt of the charge.

A few stragglers made it through.

"I got them!" Adam announced. Before anyone could stop him, he suddenly became invisible and was no longer among them.

Then it became a really bizarre show of watching Lab 18 soldiers getting their necks either sliced open or their heads bending at an odd angle by a seemingly invisible force.

"Wait, something's wrong..." Lowell stated.

Adam already knew what his friend had picked up. Somehow, their enemies had received some rudimentary training in how to counter stealth opponents. Never before had enemies, while he was invisible, got so close to hitting him while he was stealthed. It was becoming concerning. He also knew why his friends were not firing in his general direction, they did not want to hit him either. The assassin was on his own as he ducked and weaved through danger.

And then quite suddenly, he felt something explode through his arm.

Adam hit the ground to try and keep the dagger he dropped from popping into view but it was too late. His friend desperately started firing at the Lab 18 soldiers around him but in these moments were split seconds made all the difference, Adam was certain he was screwed.

"Never leave a man behind, or down!" an electronic voice suddenly blared. Without warning, Norad was suddenly right over Adam, the robot's circular saw blade practically screaming bloody murder as the enemies around Adam were rapidly dismembered.

"Time for you to evac out of here, organic life form. You should get some armor like me!" Norad blared at Adam, using itself as a shield to cover the downed man's retreat. Adam scrambled as fast as he could back to the others.

"Mark, you got one heck of a teammate back there." Adam panted as he climbed back into the depression.

"You can thank him yourself later." Mark replied as James did his best to bandage Adam's arm.

"Victory is non-negotiable. Give me liberty or give me death!" Norad shouted as he continued on in a whirlwind of death, plasma blasts and splashing blood flying all around him.

Suddenly, the robot was engulfed in the distinctive, brilliant blast of an electromagnetic pulse.

Norad dropped to the ground, a final distorted warble coming from his speakers.

"Box me up and ship me home...tell my mother I did my best..."

"…Darn it…" Mark murmured after a moment's silence. The men got down again as gunfire continued to keep everyone's head down. Eventually Mina had arrived as well as the reinforcements from the _Half Moon_, the ones that had managed to make it that far on the beach anyway.

Eventually, the figured out that the last line of defenders were doggedly holding onto the final barrier just before the door to the old fortress just under the State of Liberty, the Iron Lady's torch still beckoning to them. It also appeared that the last line of soldiers was not going to give them the door easily. Gunfire and missiles were keeping all of them down.

"There's no way we're going to get those idiots out of there without taking heavy casualties. We better hurry cause they're going to lock onto us with those missile launchers." Adam stated. Lowell looked at Delta Sierra.

"Can you ask your friend for a strafing run?" Lowell asked the agent. Delta Sierra groaned.

"Athena had to head off to re-fuel and reload. She won't be back for another fifteen minutes." The agent replied.

"JAMES!" they all heard a shriek just in time to see Mina pinned to the ground, a stray Lab 18 soldier slowly gaining the upper hand against the adolescent, a deadly knife inching ever closer towards her. James immediately reacted appropriately.

The Lab 18 soldiers fell over with three heavy bolts lodged in him.

"You all right?" the medic asked, having dashed up to her.

"…Yes, I'm fine." Mina replied breathlessly. James shook his head. This was no place for someone her age.

And then they felt the ground shudder underneath them.

The last bastion of defenders behind the sandbag wall in front of the fort entrance seem to disappear in a flurry of laser blasts and missiles. Everyone looked behind right in time to see a massive behemoth rise from the beach.

"Welcome to Liberty Island. All invading Communists forces will be receiving their deportation notices in projectile form. Further hostiles detected within the confines of the monument. Warning: rules of engagement forbid the destruction of important landmarks. Specialized assault teams necessary for the removal of remaining forces." The Phlegyas walker announced, recently revived from some dedicated Brotherhood teams.

"Glad to see that up and running again." Lowell muttered just as an eruption of gunfire exploded from the once closed Liberty fortress door. The men dived to the ground again while the Phlegyas walker simply stood stoically, hardwired not to even fire close to historical monuments.

A stray bullet grazed just above Lowell's left brow, tearing flesh but otherwise not doing any serious harm. James immediately rushed up to help the man.

"Doc, I'm fine. Save the meds for those who really need it." Lowell replied, pointing to the rather sorry looking lot of soldiers behind them in various degrees of distress.

"Right." James muttered.

"Looks like Lab 18 isn't going to even let us knock on the door. I spotted a hardened turret in there plus other tracer rounds so there must be others guarding the door. They'll probably pop it open every now and then to fire rounds or something." Adam explained, watching from his position. Lowell and some other Rangers started finding ways to strap bayonets and daggers to the appropriate places on their guns.

"And what, may I ask, good will these things do?" Delta Sierra scoffed. From what he had seen, either you used your firearm or just keep your blade on your side for a quick slash and stab.

"Would you like to find out for yourself?" Lowell asked. The agent remembered he was not exactly in welcoming company.

"And the next time you open your mouth, and it is not helpful information, I will personall blow your nose off." Lowell said.

The coalition forces were gathering around them for a final push. That included Francis and the elite Iron Storm troopers. Carrying boxes of ammunition for the final push, the Brotherhood knights still seemed ready for the fight.

The door opened up again, unleashing a storm of lead before closing again.

"We're going to have to storm that thing." Lowell explained to the others.

"We best ready the flamethrower units. My men and I will help provide fire support since we have this armor but it's the flamethrowers that will have to establish a clearing in that building. We'll probably get flash cooked in these power armor suits." Paladin Hail said.

"Agreed. Ready the flamethrowers!" Lowell called before looking at Sven.

"Well, my crazed excuse of a human being, you ready to do what you know best?" Lowell asked. Sven's face twisted into a deranged grin.

"Oh ho ho, you better believe it!" Sven cackled.

"For once, you're not going to get any disagreements there…just try not to cook us along with the tin cans in there." Lowell

"I'll go with them, help provide suppressing fire." Carl offered, hefting his gatling laser.

"You ready big guy?" Lowell asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Carl replied.

"All right…all units ready…Go! Go! Go!" Lowell ordered.

James and Delta Sierra both fired off aimed rounds at the door just as it swung open, fire spraying on the charging Iron Storm knights, Paladin Hail also providing marksman support while Carl sent a torrent of laser fire of his own, the giant stepping to a commanding position on the battlefield.

However, all eyes were on the handful of flamethrower technicians running as fast as their heavy fuel tanks would allow. Sven's heavy incinerator allowed him to fire from a further distance than the others but he needed to get closer to cause any damage.

One explosion and then a few more signaled where a bullet had found one of their comrades' gas tanks. The unfortunate soldiers were gone in a second, hoisted by their own petards.

Sven was able to clear the distance with some four others, all of them sticking their nozzles into the door and unleashing an inferno into the building.

"Out of the way! One of us goes and we'll all disappear in a burst of glory! Spread out!" Sven yelled at them through his gas mask. After a few minutes, the roar from Sven's flamethrower fell silent as well as the noises from inside the building.

"BOOYAH! Hahahahahaha!" Sven cheered, incinerator raised high over his head.

And then he heard a very ominous _ping_.

Carl, James, Adam and the other stared in awestruck horror as an explosion lifted Sven high over their heads and shot him right behind them, the pyromaniac landing with a violent thud on the beach.

"No matter how much we expected that to happen after all these years and still I could not have been prepared for this." James muttered.

And, quite miraculously, Sven groaned before feebly trying to get up. Adam was the first to get to him followed by James. Adam found the man in a rather sorry state, completely covered in scorch marks.

"Sven, you all right?" Adam demanded.

"Ha…haha…ha…it worked!" Sven cackled. Adam furrowed his brows.

"What worked?" the regulator demanded.

"The fuel tank I designed…it protected me from the explosion…plus the fire retardant cover….and…" Sven trailed off just as James got up to him.

"How are you still alive?" James demanded.

"I'm just bat crap crazy…AAAARRGGGGHHHH!" Sven suddenly screamed in agony.

"It burns! Get this off of me! It burns!" Sven screamed in torment. James gently flipped Sven over before wincing.

"How bad?" Adam asked over Sven's screams. James glared at him.

"How bad? Can't you see it for yourself?"

"I'm purposefully averting my gaze in that direction." Adam explained flatly.

"He's got second degree burns on his entire back. It's not as serious as third degree burns but it's the most painful kind. If I can treat him right and prevent infection, he'll be back up and burning crap in no time…but I have to do it right."

"Why aren't you guys putting that fire out! Oh my gosh I can't believe I just said that blaspheme! Make it stop burning!" Sven shouted.

"Sven, you're not burning, it is from the exposed nerves." James explained calmly. Sven could not have cared except it was at that point that James dropped a massive dose of Med-X into the man's system, effectively knocking the pyromaniac out.

"I'll make sure he's properly prepped and stabilized before I have a medical team get him back to the _Half Moon_. Get up there and help the others, I'll be with you guys shortly." James told Adam.

"Gotcha." Adam replied before rushing up to join Carl and Lowell.

"Will he make it?" Carl asked.

"I think a better question now is: is our pyromaniac in fact indestructible?" Adam asked rhetorically.

Up at the side of the fortress, Francis was panting next to the open door of the entrance. Catching his breath, the regulator grandmaster once again shouldered his plasma. He did know how many times he had done this before and he prayed this would not be his last. Someone had to make sure the idiot regulators under him got the job done. He looked at Paladin Hail who was getting the Iron Storm troopers into formation to lead the way into the fortress.

"Ready?" Paladin Hail's electronic voice asked from behind the helmet.

"Yes." Francis replied. However, before anyone could do anything, they heard someone shout over the battlefield.

"Clear the way! Liberators coming in!" Carl boomed, gatling gun ready. Right in front of him was Adam and Lowell, Mina behind him while James was rapidly bounding up behind them, having sent Sven off with two medics. The marksman was carrying Sven's pump action shotgun.

"Sven told me to nail a couple for him." James explained and before anyone could object, the Liberator party made their way between Francis and the Brotherhood knight and led the way into the fortress.

_Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame_

_With conquering limbs astride from land to land_

_Here at our sea washed, sunset gates shall stand_

_A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame_

_Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name_

_Mother of Exiles. From her beacon hand_

_Glows worldwide welcome;_ _her mild eyes command_

_The air bridged harbor that twin cities frame._

_"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she_

_With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,_

_Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,_

_The wretched refuse of your teeming shore._

_Send these, the homeless, tempest tossed to me,_

_I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"_

So did the inscription go on the worn and ancient pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. The Mother of Exiles, having watched the endless sea for so long now watched a torrent of red bathe the once peaceful sands she stood on. The battle was almost over but for the dead and dying is was already done. Lady Liberty had welcomed so many to this land for so many years and it would be she who would welcome these passing souls into the next life.

And within the solemn halls of the Liberty monument, blood was being shed.

"I don't know anything about the layout of this monument." Francis grumbled.

"But I thought you knew all about this ancient crap, you know, since you're old yourself?" Adam gibed.

"I punched you in the nose once before, I'll gladly do it again." Francis grunted.

"Right." Adam replied.

"…The Iron Storm Knights and I will take the bottom levels, you guys take out the rest up here. Finish the job and finish strong, all right?" Francis said.

"We'll get it done." Lowell replied.

"We'll liberate the heck out of this place." Adam added.

"Good luck." Francis finished before stalking forward, leading the armored knights leaving the others to take on the rest by themselves. They could hear their enemies moving around in the building, shouting orders and making panicked statements.

Lowell, Adam, James, Carl and Mina went down the central hallway. Slinking behind them was Delta Sierra. At this point some were starting to wonder if he had other motives coming to the surface but now was not the time to try and figure it out.

Especially if a Lab 18 power armor soldier is bursting out, submachine gun spraying. Lowell was in the only position to get any rounds off but just as the veteran pulled the trigger on his gun, he was dismayed to find out that it had jammed. Tossing the rifle aside, Lowell went for his shotgun.

The panicked Lab 18 soldier was unfortunately quicker and sent one well placed bullet into Mina's shoulder. The struck adolescent fell back into James' grasp, the medic dropping his own shotgun just to catch her.

Lowell's retribution was swift and decisive. A single shotgun blast took off their enemy's head.

"James…" Lowell started, but the Liberator already knew what to do.

"She'll make it, doesn't look like anything serious. I'll make sure she gets back to safety." James announced.

"Hey, don't worry, kiddo. You're going to a nice, warm bed." Lowell told the still shell shocked Mina.

"Okay." Mina muttered softly before James rushed back towards the entrance of the building. He found himself passing Delta Sierra.

"Cover me, will you? Last thing I need is to get shot myself." James muttered quickly before getting to the entrance of the building.

Outside the Liberty fortress, on the far side of the building, the last of the Lab 18 soldiers were being mopped up by the coalition forces. As ferocious as the attackers were being, none matched the fury of Sufia. Her leather dress coated in blood, the woman was a whirlwind, her scimitar moving with deadly efficiency from well trained strokes. She shouted with each rise and fall of the blade, each making a gruesome, blood stained cut.

"This is for what you did to me at Kingston! This is for my mother! This is for my father! This is for Ibrahim!"

Sufia let out one last shrill war cry before she stopped dead in her tracks. Right in front of her was a rather weary looking James, a distressed Mina still clutched in his arms. Sufia tried to catch her breath while James continued to stare at her. She was not sure if he disapproved or if he was disappointed. After all, she just realized she was rather grotesquely covered in blood.

"Are you done?" James asked hoarsely.

"Y-yes." Sufia panted. She promptly found Mina shoved into her arms.

"She is stabilized but don't jar her too much. Get back to the ship. I'm impressed of how much damage you did but good heavens woman, stay safe." James snapped before rushing back towards the fortress. Sufia and Mina could only help but stare but a whimper from Mina got Sufia back to attention. The Muslim woman rushed back to the _Half Moon_, a prayer on her lips for their safety. Several brisk moments later, Sufia finally let herself rest, gently depositing Mina on a bed.

"You're safe now." Sufia told the adolescence.

"I…don't feel pain…not too much yet." Mina stated.

"Let's hope it stays that way." Sufia replied. Suddenly, they heard a blood curdling scream from one of the wounded.

"HOLY FREAK! IT BURNS! SWEET NAPALM IT BURNS!"

Sufia wondered if Sven would have any love for fire anymore after this.

"We'll get you all back to Ellis Island where Julia will make you better, I promise." Sufia told Mina.

The end of a battle can be spotted early. However, they rarely if ever end gracefully. It became clear to the men that they had entered the central control area for Lab 18, made within the landing of the Statue of Liberty, just within the statue itself. All above them was the folded metal of the inside of the monument. All around them were the last, desperate holdouts. James arrived just in time to see Carl force the entrance with a single swift and heavy slam of his super sledge. The giant's armor also absorbed most of the incoming rounds. At this point, it all came down to small arms but mostly hand weapons.

Carl went for the last two power armored soldiers, also similarly equipped as he was. James cut down a gunman with a simple combat armor with a quick thrust of his shortblade. Adam and Lowell found themselves fighting against adamant scientists who refused to lay down their arms.

"It all ends here! Surrender or die!" Adam shouted, throwing a dagger at a pistol wielding scientist. Another one was spontaneously crumpled under the weight of a flying power armored soldier, sent airborne by Carl.

And quite suddenly, it ended with one scientist completely surrounded by panting, exhausted and stern regulators in varying states of anger. Carl was indignant. Adam and Lowell were livid. James had simply been exhausted by too much death. He simply wanted this done.

"Well, why'd you all do it, you bastards?" Lowell demanded. The scientist, frightened if defiant to the end, simply sneered at them but did not answer.

"Talk and we may let you live." Adam growled.

"Just talk and we'll let you go. There's been enough death already." James sighed.

"Y-you'll let me live?" the scientist sputtered.

"Maybe. If you cooperate." Carl said.

And then they heard a muffled spurt just before a red hole appeared in the scientist's forehead.

"I wouldn't bother. Humans can be deceitful. These records however, tell all." Delta Sierra stated, returning his silenced pistol to its holster before going to the computers and putting in a holotape. They could tell he was immediately starting to download all the information Lab 18 had.

"Guess no one does anything out of altruism anymore, huh?" Carl asked, looking at the Enclave agent.

"I was under the impression that was your job." Delta Sierra replied, not looking up at them. The men took a moment to collect themselves before they realized what exactly had happened.

Lab 18 had been driven from Liberty Island. Once again, the Liberators, Rangers and the Brotherhood had vanquished a foe that threatened their city. Once again, they could have freedom.

"Ha…haha…it's over…we did it." Adam chuckled.

"I'm thirsty." Carl murmured. James meanwhile sat down and heavily hung his head. War was not his business.

Lowell ominously collapsed on the ground.

"Hey, you all right there, buddy?" Adam asked in concern. Lowell simply groaned in response.

"James! Get over here! I think something is not right." Adam ordered in alarm. James rushed up to inspect the situation while Carl and Delta Sierra watched on.

"Talk to me, Lowell. What's wrong?" James questioned. Before the soldier could answer, the medic was immediately dismayed to see that Lowell's lips had become blue.

"What's wrong, Lowell." James demanded now, unbuttoning the man's shirt.

"I…thought…I could handle it…" Lowell stated cryptically.

"What's going on?" Adam asked. James stopped his search when he found a large wet spot under Lowell's armor.

"Lowell…I suspect the bullet that did this might have migrated and hit something important." James announced darkly.

"You're telling me…" Lowell sighed.

"Well don't just sit there, do something!" Adam snapped.

"I'm out of stimpacks, I have no coagulation powder and I've had no extra units of blood this whole trip." James replied, disappointed himself. What James was not telling Adam was that judging from Lowell's condition, in light of their current situation, Lowell had already passed the point of no return.

"I'll go search outside." Carl offered before thundering away, they could hear his booming voice calling for any extra stimpacks. Off to the side, they could see Delta Sierra searching the bodies for any medications, stimpacks or blood but it seems that despite all of their technology, Lab 18 did not have any of the supplies they needed on stock.

"Hey Adam…it's all right…I've fought well…I found Ellie…I just, I just want to see Maria now." Lowell gasped. Adam glared at him.

"Lowell, don't talk like that, we'll find the medication for you-"

"You know why James is being such a sourpuss over there? Its…it's because he knows…I'm a goner now…just…accept it, all right? I'll tell Leslie you said hi…Just do me a favor, will you?" Lowell said weakly.

"What is it pal?" Adam asked.

"I want you…to love Alex…as much as you loved Leslie…" Lowell stated. Adam winced before pausing a moment.

"Darn it…why did you two always have to get in ahead of me?" Adam asked, his throat starting to hurt.

"I'm sorry about it this time, kid. I am." Lowell replied. They sat around for a moment in silence, Adam and Lowell having their hands locked in a final handshake.

"I'm going to kick your butt when I get to heaven, you know?" Adam muttered.

"Hahaha…banged up job we did to this place…" Lowell sighed.

And then, quietly but suddenly, Lowell breathed his last.

Adam sat back and cursed quietly, blocking out all reality for a moment. This was a little more than he wanted to deal with. Saddened by what he saw, as much as a stranger could anyway, Delta Sierra simply shook his head before noticing his holotape was finished downloading. He took the storage device and simply left the room, ignored by the others. It was at that moment Carl rushed in, panting in exertion. Whatever announcement he had, it died in his throat when he realized it was too late.

Somberly, James crossed himself before gently closing Lowell's empty eyes. He carefully pulled something from the man's coat before handing it Adam. The man noticed it was the old picture Lowell had shown him of himself, Lowell and Leslie when they were younger, an old reminder of days long gone by.

"I'm sure he would have wanted you to have that." James said.


	33. Chapter 33

_"Bad times, hard times, this is what people keep saying; but let us live well, and times shall be good. We are the times: Such as we are, such are the times."_

-Saint Augustine

* * *

An Iron Lady still stands in New York harbor, the original copper gleam of her skin now faded into a dull, greenish gray. In her hand she still holds a torch to the sky. Below her feet, weary and sorrowful men are cleaning the remnants of the battle. Among the wounded, Sven and Mina were kept on Liberty Island, the majority of the medics, Julia included, were called over from Ellis to directly tend to the wounded at the battle site. A rather depressed Mina laid on her bed while a tearful Eleanor still grieved over the news of her departed father. Julia sighed as she did her best to tend to both girls. Sven was still going to be a mess for a few days but now he was mostly drugged up while his whole back was swimming in medication, antiseptics and bandage. The pyromaniac insisted on helping in what way he could. To him fell a final, dismal task which he was only just recently told and he was brooding over it. It was one of the rare times that the man's more somber side could be seen. Meanwhile, Julia stood over Mina while still holding Eleanor.

"It's okay…we'll take care of both of you…until you both can get back on your feet." The young mother told both of them. Suddenly, with an alarmed squeak, Rat came bounding from the docks and rushed up to Mina, planting the wounded girl with plenty of wet rat kisses.

Off in the distance, Julia could hear her husband yelling with some of the higher ranking officers and, oddly enough, the archbishop.

"I can't believe this, our men fought and died to kill off these bastards and you want to give _them_ equal treatment with our fallen?" a Ranger officer yelled at James. The marksman was indignant.

"If we're going to sacrifice a ship to ceremonially burn our fallen, we will do the same with the Lab 18 dead, not toss them into the waves like trash for the mirelurks! Find another ship, I don't care what you do, they will be treated equally!" James snarled. Francis simply stood with his arms crossed. He was curious as to what his employee was getting at. The archbishop tried to restore order.

"Tell me, my son, why you are insisting on this?" the priest asked calmly.

"Yes, tell us, traitor." The Ranger officer spat. James stared venomously at him.

"200 years ago, in a war no less, our ancestors decided that they knew better and that some other group of people were less than themselves. Because of their stupidity, our world went up in flames because of the arrogance of man who thought he could dictate who was worthy to be called an equal. If we do not remember this and act no differently, we will continue to destroy and kill ourselves. I don't agree with anything they did. I'm still angry at them too. But that doesn't change the fact that they were people too." James replied. Both the Ranger officer and another regulator immediately were at arms.

James backhanded both of them with his prosthetic, knocking them to the ground.

"They will be treated equally, even in death!" James screamed.

And that settled that.

In the end, two creaking and groaning freighters were loaded up with the bodies, one with the fallen coalition dead, the other with those from Lab 18. Respectfully laid in the proper ship was Lieutenant Scotti Toye and so many others. On the shore, the priest gave the final words of committal.

"In the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to Almighty God these people and commit their earthly remains to the deep. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The Lord bless them and keep them, the Lord make His face to shine upon them and be gracious to them. The Lord lift up His countenance upon them and them peace."

The ships were cast off, the old and decrepit engines set to run on their own power as the others watched from the shore. The band of mourners a smaller group than those who had given their lives. Rolling across the waves, Carl's baritone voice carried a tune that came to his mind from his childhood, still not forgotten after all these years.

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound! That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind but now I see!"

The Liberators stood solemnly on the shore joined by their friends. Even agent Daniel Siaga and Athena stood aside quietly, close to their vertibird. Painfully with a pronounced limp, Sven walked off from the group and pulled a remote detonator from his coat. He watched on for a couple moments before hitting the button. Far off on the horizon, they watched the ships ignite in flames. There would be no explosion this time, just chemical fires to immolate the bodies.

"When we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun! We've no less days to sing God's praise, than when we first begun!" Carl sang before finishing the hymn. The group watched on for a couple moments before people starting walking off in groups. In the end, the Liberators along with Mina, Eleanor, Francis, Lex and the Iron Storm knights and finally Rat, turned to leave. They were surprised to see that Delta Sierra was still there off in the distance. However, the Enclave agent was slowly stepping into the vertibird, Athena already firing up the rotors. Delta Sierra gave them a full salute before disappearing into the aircraft.

"I wonder what that meant." Adam murmured. They were a bit surprised to hear Francis answer.

"A sign of respect. He may still hate you. He may still try to kill you. He will certainly most try to deceive you again if ordered. But he respects you." Francis replied before lighting a cigarette. The old man glanced up and noticed Lady Liberty still standing with that torch raised in her hand, held there after all these years.

Even in the darkest of times, hope had still burned and in the end it won.

The next day, Delta Sierra long gone, the Liberators and most of the Brotherhood of Steel were still trying to clean up the mess on the island. At this point, the Brotherhood were trying to salvage and retro-engineer most of what Lab 18 had left. At some point or another, Mark and Cindy were ready to request their leave.

"Well, I think we've done all we can. Permission to get back on duty in the city?" Mark asked Francis. The regulator grandmaster simply nodded.

"Is this the part where I request for a replacement for Norad?" Mark added. Francis simply motioned towards the giant war machine behind them, patiently waiting for further orders on the beach.

"Seems like you already found your replacement. However, I'll keep an eye open." Francis replied. This time, Mark nodded.

"As obnoxious as he was, I'm going to miss that robot." Mark muttered before he and Cindy boarded the Phlegyas just as the machine stepped into the waves and made its way back to the mainland.

Meanwhile, at the docks where James, Julia, Sufia, Mina, Eleanor and Rat loaded up some final supplies onto the _Half Moon_. Noticing that Eleanor was still in a stupor, Julia came up to her.

"You know, you can stay with us as long as you need to. We know places that will be safe that will always need a doctor…also, feel free to visit us and your father. Adam is arranging for his body to be buried beside his cousin…outside our vault." Julia told the young girl.

"Thank you…but I think I'll be returning up north to the Commonwealth. I made a promise to my dad before he passed. If I ever got the chance I was going to return and take control of Lab 18; make sure stuff like this never happens again." Eleanor replied. James nodded, overhearing the whole thing.

"Redemption is always better than outright destruction." The man stated. Julia agreed on one condition.

"All right, but we're sending you up with a caravan escort. No arguments." Julia said.

"How about you, Mina? What are you planning?" James asked.

"Think I'll stay here awhile. You know if Francis might have a team that needs an extra hand?" Mina asked. James pointed at the old man.

"I'm sure he does but its best you ask him yourself on that matter."

"On that matter, I have a similar question, Mr. Vanderbraun." Sufia chimed in. James glanced at her.

"You can call me James." The medic replied.

"Yes. Anyway, do you think your boss will accept me as a regulator?" Sufia asked. James stared at her for one long hard moment.

"No offense, but when I first laid eyes on you, I was not sure how you survived so long out in the wastes. The first time I saw you pick up a gun, I was fairly certain the only thing you were dangerous to was yourself." James stated. Sufia's mouth parted in horror and disappointment at what she heard.

"But from what I saw yesterday…you have drive. You go with Mina and talk to Francis yourself. If you need an endorsement, you'll have mine." James finished. Sufia smiled and gently bowed.

"Thank you…friend. Both of you, for what you have done. For everything." Sufia sputtered before taking Mina's hand and walking her off towards Francis' direction. Julia meanwhile stepped up next to her husband and affectionately kissed him on the cheek.

"…So, you ever think about retiring lately?" Julia asked. James chuckled before staring out at the endless waves.

"Why? Do you think I should?" James asked. Julia herself hesitated.

"I want you to be safe. We have a son now and I want him to grow up with a father." Julia stated.

"And yet I sense that's not everything." James replied. Julia smiled.

"But I also believe that there is so many people out there who still need someone like you to save the day…I need you to still do that. Just so that it can be a little safer out there for all of us." Julia said. James nodded.

"I'll talk to Francis…see what my options are. I doubt I'll be turning in this duster anytime soon…but maybe there can be ways that I can spend more time at home." James said. After a moment, both of them dropped their gaze at their feet to see Rat contently napping in the sun. James scratched his chin for a moment.

"You think he'd make a good babysitter?" James asked. Julia shrugged.

"For someone who lacks opposable thumbs…we're still going to need help." Julia replied.

Over on the beach, Carl was throwing together a pile of the mostly shattered Lab 18 power armor parts he could find. If anything, he was certain that the Brotherhood wouldn't mind if just a few pieces went missing. There were plenty to choose from and he was pretty sure he and his fellow Liberators could make use with some of the equipment. Off to the side, he noticed Sven hobbling along, collecting parts for explosives.

"You okay there buddy? Shouldn't you be resting, anyway?" Carl asked.

"Nah, back can heal on its own. I'll feel better knowing I have more explosives." Sven replied. Carl nodded before speaking again.

"Hey, are you all right? I noticed you haven't exactly been smiling and you seem a little more somber than usual. I mean, we all know you were a pyromaniac and all…I just hope that little – I can't believe I'm saying this – explosion back there didn't exactly kill your joy in life." Carl stated. Sven stared at him.

"…Of course I'm still a pyromaniac. My entire back hurts, of course I'm not exactly going to be smiling. What did you expec- ooh! Plasma grenade!" Sven stated excitedly, hurriedly rushing to snatch the wayward explosive. Carl rolled his eyes before chuckling. Maybe their pyromaniac was plenty screwed up in the head but at least he was still happy. Just wouldn't be the same without Slightly Psycho Sven.

Sitting on the ground just on the southernmost edge of the fortress, Adam sat contemplatively in the sand. He had felt the need to get away from it all. However, he was mostly surprised to see Alexandra walk up him.

"There you are. I was wondering where you had disappeared off to." Alexandra stated, sitting down next to him. She noticed that Adam had a small slip of paper in his hands. Apparently, it was the old photograph of himself, Lowell and Leslie.

"I'm sorry about what happened…to both of them." Alexandra stated.

"…I'll find a way to live. I'm really going to miss both of them." Adam admitted.

"Well, I'm sure they were both good people." Alexandra replied. Adam nodded.

"Yes…but I also know that I'm surrounded by good people here. Our mission is over. The Hudson has been mapped and the information is recorded. I've given Francis a full report and he said he'll be sending the regulators shortly…once we replenish the ranks. What I'm saying is that you're free to go. We won't be requisitioning the _Half Moon_ anymore." Adam said.

"Very well…and for this one trip I won't charge for any of the expenses you and your men racked up." Alexandra smiled.

"Though…that doesn't mean I don't wish to see you again. Feel free to stop by the vault anytime." Adam said carefully.

"And feel free to give me a call if you ever need transportation on the river." Alexandra said.

"…So would you ever consider dating…well…me?" Adam asked. Alexandra smirked at him.

"Hmmm…"

"Now don't kill me here." Adam muttered.

"Break my heart, and I'll break your bank account." Alexandra replied.

"Deal."

_…One Year Later…_

Mina walked alongside Mark and Cindy, sporting an old but familiar hat as well as some very familiar weapons. All told, she had been working alongside the two regulators for many months now. Francis found it only fitting to take over Norad's place. Granted, Phlegyas did a lot of the work but there were times precision was needed and that was where Mina came in.

"So you think Phlegyas will be all right patrolling the city by himself?" Cindy asked.

"He's a giant war machine. The scribes assured me that his programming is pretty sturdy. It's not like he hasn't followed my instructions before." Mark replied.

"True…and it's not like we're going to be able to lose him." Cindy said.

"That would most certainly be difficult." Mina chuckled.

"Well, there it is, the new headquarters." Mark announced, taking a pause to look the place over.

"Otherwise known as the Liberators' vault." Mina added.

"Yeah well, the old man never did get around to replacing the old cabin." Mark muttered.

Before, the Liberators were a bit apprehensive of the location of their vault being given away. After all, it would only make sense that the unscrupulous would try to take it away from them. The last idea they relished was the thought of being caught under siege with a gang outside and being stuck in a steel cave. However, with all the regulator traffic going into and out of the vault, those fears kind of died away. It was almost a matter now of wishing they had no visitors.

The group past not a few regulators before they even made it through the door. Many of the regulators were fresh recruits but at least their numbers were growing again, replacing the many they had lost at Liberty. However, they could smell Carl's cooking before they even made it to the main area. The large cook was booming something apparently to the new recruits, something about having them take down another mirelurk to hone their skills and make up for all the food that was being eaten. Otherwise, they found Francis sitting at what had become his new makeshift desk, complete with papers, his plasma rifle leaning by its side and a glass of anything that could have been alcohol or mildly clean water.

"We're here to stop by for a bit…and to collect on our bounties." Mark greeted the older regulator. Francis grunted before parceling out the proper amount of caps and then promptly tossing the fingers down a chute into the incinerator.

"So where's everyone else?" Mina asked. Francis raised an eyebrow at her.

"I take it you mean the other Liberators? Busy. Sven and James are working on a getting a robobrain up and running." Francis explained.

"Whatever for?" Mina inquired.

"Julia can tell you. There she is right now." Francis pointed in the proper direction. They both looked over to see a smiling Julia decked in her scholarly robes. Most surprising however was that in each arm she held a newborn.

"They're only a couple weeks old. James and I were a bit surprised when we found out I was expecting. We had kind of given up hope about having children of our own." Julia said.

"What are their names?" Mina cooed, looking at both of them.

"I'd like you to meet Lowell and Evelyn Leslie Vanderbraun. It was Adam who gave James the idea about Lowell, James had always been set on Evelyn's name." Julia explained.

"What about Isaac?" Mina asked.

At that moment Rat came bounding up to Mina and gave a happy squeak as a greeting, before scrambling off briefly, only to return dragging a toddling Isaac, the child dead set on crawling the other direction. The group laughed, even Francis could not help but smile a bit.

"Rat has been Isaac's friend and babysitter…well, ever since the beginning in case you didn't notice. I think it's only fitting since the rodent was in fact that one that sniffed him out at Albany. Still, James thought it best that we're all going to need a little more help keeping an eye on all of them…especially with three of them now." Julia explained.

"And where's Adam?" Mina inquired.

"Out speaking with the captain." A familiar voice replied. Mina turned around and saw Sufia. She still had her head scarf on but now she too wore the olive green duster of a regulator. Mina glanced over at Francis.

"A little experiment that I thought about going on. Sufia has shown it was a good idea. She's a hired security on the _Half Moon_. Yes, she helps out Alexandra but she answers to me and helps keep the shipping lanes as well as the ports clear of any raiders or pirates. It's not an easy job but Sufia has shown herself capable of it." Francis explained. Sufia nodded.

"Thank you, sir." Sufia replied.

"Ah, so you mean they're on a date." Mina replied. At that moment both Sven and James walked in.

"More than a date. Adam asked me a month ago to go make something at the vault forge. He wanted me to make a ring. I'm pretty sure he's out there popping the question to her." James said. Mina giggled.

"So we have something to look forward to when he gets back, yes?" Mina asked.

"It better be a yes. Making that ring was not easy." James muttered.

"Did anyone hear from them yet?" Saffron asked excitedly, shuffling into the room. Apparently she was rather excited. Saffron had been running her own cargo routes when necessary on the _Clermont_ but otherwise, especially with all the goods they had to haul, she usually teamed up with her sister on the river routes, both ships carrying all the cargo.

"No, but you're welcome to join us to dinner while we wait I suppose." Carl announced, walking in with large platters piled high with various dishes of mirelurks.

Dinner at the vault was a throwback to the group meals on the _Half Moon_ a year earlier. Yes, Ibrahim, Lowell and Scotti were not there but the group had learned to honor their memories in the lives that they currently lived. Sufia and Saffron giggled as they reminisced over their shared stories on the river while Francis every now and then gave a short story on his adventures in New York. Carl was thoroughly enjoying his food while Sven took a break from his constant search on trying to find ways to blow things up. James and Julia kept their growing family under supervision while everyone could still tell the love they had for each other. Rat was busy stuffing his snout into a can of pork n beans as he sat next to Mina's leg.

And it was in the middle of all of that that Adam and Alexandra walked in.

"So James…I think I owe you an apology…" Adam started off. James as well as Carl and Sven were immediately at attention. This was not expected.

"I think I better apologize for the hard time I gave you about going through a wedding and all with Julia…because I'm about to do the same with Alexandra. You think you could talk to the priest for me? Alexandra said yes." Adam admitted sheepishly while Alexandra was actually smiling. James chuckled.

"Sure, I can talk to the priest. Congratulations." James replied and he was echoed by others. However, it was Mina who had to get everyone's attention by singling out Francis.

"Sir, do you remember a year ago when I said I intended to return back to the Capital Wasteland?" Mina asked. Francis nodded.

"After this payment I have enough to return. I'm going to have to request your leave. I'll transfer to the Capital Wasteland regulators over there but my time here is done." Mina announced. The group stared at her while Francis thought it over. You could practically see his gray mustache hairs shuffle.

"Very well. Keep the duster, you'll need it. I think it may even be starting to fit you." Francis muttered.

"Thank you, sir." Mina replied. It was at that moment that she felt Rat paw at her pant leg. The rodent actually let out a sorrowful whine. The Liberators were a bit shocked. Rat had certainly squeaked and chattered irritably before but this was the first time they heard him actually whine.

"I'll miss you too, Rat. I promise if I'm ever back in the area I'll look you guys up." Mina told them all while stroking the rodent's head.

"Well, before you all leave, I think you'll want to see this. Remember back at Liberty before the battle? Did you notice a scribe going around with a camera?" Julia asked. Everyone shook their heads to the negative.

"Scribe Lex understood something very important was happening and he wanted to have it documented. Well, here are the copies of pictures that were made." Julia explained, showing them the black and white photographs. The group immediately started hunting through them. They found a picture of Mark, Cindy and Norad in the foreground while only the Phlegyas' legs could be seen. A later picture showed the towering war machine in all its imposing power. There was a picture of Delta Sierra and Athena by the vertibird, followed by Francis and Scribe Lex talking. There was another of Paladin Hail and the Iron Storm troopers standing at attention. Then there was a picture of Adam and Lowell sharing a drink followed by yet another picture of the original four Liberators, their L insignias at their sleeves as they stared at the camera. Perhaps the best picture was the last, a group photo of all of them, Francis, Saffron, Sufia and Alexandra, the Liberators, Lowell and Scotti, Eleanor and Mina carrying Rat in her arms, Mark, Cindy and Norad as well Paladins Rufus, Fernando and the Iron Storm troopers.

* * *

Clothed in a white lab coat, Eleanor Morgan stood vindicated as she stepped through the hallway. It had taken the better part of a year but her original projects had been completed. Her initial reforms to Lab 18 were accomplished, their more militant branches shut down while further research was made in inoculations, bionic prosthetics and medications. However, there was one task that had eluded her for so long until know. In fact, she was cradling it in her hands.

The last live but contained sample of Virus 8191; otherwise known as the Red Plague or The New York Scourge.

Eleanor turned the vial into a cryogenic freezer deep within Lab 18's storage and archive. This was what she hoped would be a one way trip for the virus. No more experiments would be done with the virus and the biological weapons branch of Lab 18 had been shutdown.

She remembers the promise she made to her father a year ago and today that promise is finally finished.

She misses him deeply and remembers him every day.

* * *

Somewhere in a location that is best left classified with equipment that requires a high clearance from his superiors, a certain Enclave agent stalks through his environment. Another day, another mission. He can't talk about the details of this one, the same way he could not tell you about the last one either. Sometimes he can be seen. Sometimes he is simply just a trick of the eye. No matter what, he is invisible and is only seen when he wants to be. Most would still coin him ruthless but he still likes to think of himself as a pragmatist, doing his best for what remains of the former American government. However, he notices that every now and then, he lets an enemy or two go. It's not like they really needed to die.

He credits a certain group of regulators for this new change in his behavior.

* * *

Late at nights, when his friends are asleep and the children have been put to bed, an aging Regulator grandmaster takes his last sip of water before closing the books and filing the caps away. It has been many hard years of work, many decades of perseverance, chasing a dream he was certain he would never see take embodiment with his own eyes. Still, he kept on because he believed the dream was worth keeping alive.

And in the space of only two years, he found a promising group of individuals who not only shared his dream. They were making it come true. Sometimes the old man finds himself actually feeling excitement in his ancient bones. Perhaps…just maybe…he'll live to see the dream come true.

He considers the Liberators an answered prayer.

* * *

_Author's Note: Well, that marks the end of another Duster story. I'd like to thank all those who reviewed and gave their input and encouragement. Special thanks especially to Forfie, AlphaOmega92, Agent 94, SundayWinterchild and many others. _

_I would also like to thank my co-author on this, EasyCompany506. Congrats on your first finished story. It has been a pleasure working with you and your valued input. _

_Questions, comments, critiques and concerns can always be PMed or left on a review. _

_Having come to the end of the story, there was one episode I feel some of the readers may be wanting an explanation on, the deaths of the Liberators. I was rather surprised at the apparent trauma it caused among the audience though I suppose I should be flattered at how valued the Liberators are. However, that was the point of the exercise. It seems that the Liberators had risen to legendary status both within the story and on the website. I needed a reminder that they were still mortal. _

_Of course, I'm not quite through with them yet. _


End file.
